Unravel
by DaeLight Rae
Summary: One way to induce temporary to permanent impotence would be to see your boyfriend and best friend fucking after coming home from visiting your mom in the hospital who's dying of cancer. That was the case for Naruto until he met an attractive, wealthy, arrogant bastard of a man named Sasuke, who turned his world upside down.
1. Club Locust

Club Locust was a popular gay club and bar located in a back alley near the Red Light District. It opened at 1am. The dance floor that took up most of the space was always submerged in darkness. The floating neon colors from the strobe lights were the only thing allowing the patrons to get a glimpse of the person they were dancing with. The bar, however, was always lit. On Friday and Saturday nights you were likely to meet a tall blond with bright blue eyes mixing up drinks behind the circular bar on the second level.

"Yo Naruto!" A voiced called through the music and bustling crowd. The blond bartender, Naruto Uzumaki, smiled at the familiar greeting but didn't look up as he carefully poured the mixed up whiskey sour in a short glass, topping it off with a half orange slice and two cherries the way the bubbly, young woman in the mini skirt had asked him to.

A slender guy with a neat ponytail and boring face sat at the bar with a lazy smile. Naruto glanced in his direction and grinned, holding up one finger to signal for him to hold on a moment. He stuck in two little straws and turned to the previously mentioned bubbly, young woman who was waiting anxiously. Naruto could tell she was itching to get back on the dance floor, but needed another drink or two to really get the party started.

Naruto slid the drink over to her and winked, "Here ya go sweetheart." The girl giggled at the crooked, boyish smile he sent her way and slid fifteen dollars over the bar to him. Five-dollar tip. Not bad. He turned to ring up the transaction at the register, pocketing the five as he addressed his friend; "Sup Shika?" Naruto moved over to the drafts with an empty glass and began pouring a beer. Shikamaru Nara watched as Naruto placed the beer in front of him. Heineken, his favorite.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as he took a sip, swallowed, and then took another sip before he spoke. "Just in the area. Figured I'd swing by."

"Oh really?" Naruto wiped his hands on the towel that hung underneath the bar as he eyed his friend. "You, who hates being at clubs, let alone _out_ , just so happened to be in the area at..." he turned to look at the clock hanging behind him, "almost two-thirty in the morning?"

Shikamaru gulped down a bit more beer. It was obvious to Naruto that he was stalling.

Naruto's eyes shifted to a small group of guys that gathered at one corner of the bar, two of them took seats in the stools. One of them picked up the small drink menu and flipped through it. The way they joked around and poked at each other made Naruto want to roll his eyes.

Naruto approached them and placed small napkins in front of them that would act as coasters. He could tell by looking at them they wanted beer, and lots of it. But just to follow procedure he smiled at them and said, "What's up guys? What're ya having?" They all turned to him, some of them still chuckling about what Beef-Head #1 said to Beef-Head #2.

"Hey uh," Beef-Head #2 spoke up, idly rubbing his chin. "How about a pitcher?" _Not surprising_

"Alright then," Naruto began setting empty glasses on the napkins. "What'll you like?"

Beef-Head #3 looked Naruto up and down, a distinct look of hunger in his eyes. Naruto resisted the urge to gag. "I wouldn't mind having a taste of you." _Dear God._

Naruto gave a hearty laugh, hoping the disgust he was feeling was masked well enough for this dickhole to give him a nice tip. "Well I'm sorry but I'm not on the menu. How about Yuengling? It's on sale today for half off." He swiftly changed the subject to the 40 oz beer special on the menu. Beef-Head #3 gave him a flirty smile and nodded. Naruto quickly turned to fill their pitcher. When his eyes met Shikamaru's amused face he discreetly shoved a finger in and out of his mouth in a mock-gagging motion. Shikamaru laughed, peering at the guys who were back to chatting it up amongst themselves. "Here ya go," Naruto placed the pitcher in front of them before he continued, "That'll be ten dollars."

Beef-Head #3 held out a twenty-dollar bill, waiting with a stupid grin for Naruto to take it from him. This was getting annoying fast. He couldn't help but silently thank himself for gathering the proper amount of patience over the past few years of working in the service industry. A couple years ago, he might have slugged this asshole by now for being so damn cocky.

Instead of acting on his inner desires, Naruto simply took the bill from the douchebag with a forced smile. "Keep the change. Love the tats by the way," Beef-Head #3 said with a wink. _Ew._ Naruto knew he was referring to the whisker-like marks on his cheeks, something people in his past couldn't resist pointing out, either to make them seem cooler than they were or to make some sort of pussy joke out of it.

Naruto made a smile that almost looked like a grimace and nodded. "They're birth marks actually, but thanks."Naruto quickly turned towards the register before the guy had time to make some sort of irritating reply. When he looked down at the bill he was given, he wasn't surprised to see the strip of napkin attached to it with eleven digits scribbled across. He turned away from them and let out a heavy sigh. Going over to the register, he tapped in the transaction and discreetly threw the piece of napkin in the trash while pocketing his tip.

Finally, he was able to return his attention to Shikamaru. "So?" He spoke up as he refilled Shikamaru's empty glass with more of that shitty beer he enjoyed. Naruto wouldn't be caught dead drinking Heineken.

"So?" Shikamaru questioned, though Naruto knew he hadn't forgotten what they'd been talking about.

"The real reason why you're here spying on me?" Naruto moved over to address a pretty woman in a long dress. He gave her a shot of vodka as requested. His attention remained on Shikamaru as he went from customer to customer.

"I told you, I was just passing by…"

"Bullshit." He smiled at the two men he'd just prepared mojitos for, assuring them his foul language wasn't towards them.

Shikamaru sighed and scratched the back of his head, his expression thoughtful. It was as if he was battling between sticking to his lie and telling the truth. "Well…"

"Well?" Naruto urged.

"Ino wanted me to come see you and…"

"Jesus. Really?" Naruto rolled his eyes and slid a business looking man his shot of bourbon. "So the girls sent you here to babysit me?" He wasn't surprised that they'd sent Shikamaru and hadn't come themselves. It was early Friday and they had classes in the morning. Naruto had class, but his wasn't until the evening. Shikamaru, on the other hand, had graduated the year before and mostly worked from home. Therefore, he was the perfect candidate to come bug Naruto about something that they should know isn't any of their concern.

"Nah man, you know it's not like that." Shikamaru finished the last of his beer and shook his head when Naruto motioned for another one. The orders died down so Naruto crossed his arms and leaned over the bar towards Shikamaru, waiting for his explanation. "You're not still thinking about Neji and Kiba, are you? I mean we barely see you unless you're working. Even then, you're… I don't know… distant."

"That's pretty funny coming from you." Naruto joked, but didn't sound in the least bit humored. He moved to prepare another shot of vodka for the pretty woman in the long dress, as well as one for her friend with the pixie cut.

"Hey man," Shikamaru continued, knowing Naruto was listening even with his eyes and smile on the two girls demanding vodka. "It's not any of my business, I know. But Ino and the girls have been bothering me about coming here to talk to you. I tried coming to your place but you're never there…"

Naruto returned to the register before speaking, "I've been hanging around my dad's place."

"Is that so you don't run into them?"

Naruto all but slammed the register shut. This little interrogation was really getting old. "It's been a year," Naruto spoke through gritted teeth.

"Exactly Naruto. It's been a year and you refuse to go out unless you're here and that's only when you're working. And, like I said, it's none of my business. If you want to stay at home or at your dad's or whatever then who the hell am I to say you shouldn't." Naruto could tell Shikamaru was getting frustrated. It was a strange look for his usually laid back friend.

Naruto crossed his arms, "But, isn't that what you're doing right now? Telling me that I shouldn't..."

Shikamaru shook his head, "I'm telling you that you're not being _you_ Naruto. You're being me, and that's not cool. Everyone's worried." Shikamaru got up from his stool and slid a twenty-dollar bill across the bar. "All I'm saying is maybe you should think about talking to one of us; at least the girls. They're driving me nuts," Shikamaru grumbled and rolled his eyes at the thought. Naruto couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips.

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Tell them I'm fine. I'm over it. Really." He looked into Shikamaru's eyes and Shikamaru nodded and turned to leave. "Hey Shika," Naruto stopped him. Shikamaru turned back and raised an eyebrow at him. "Thanks man."

* * *

Naruto's shift ended at 6am when the club closed. He'd barely gotten through it all after his talk with Shikamaru.

Once outside the sun hit him hard. Being cooped up in such a dark space for so long made him almost forget such light existed.

After taking some time to adjust to the morning light, he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his breast pocket. He popped it open, and with a small shake, some ends of the cigarettes stuck out. He grabbed one with his mouth before placing the pack back into his pocket. He took a lighter from his back pocket and lit the short cigarette. He inhaled the nicotine with a content sigh. The morning breeze relaxed his aching muscles as he stood in the alley in front of the club's entrance.

Naruto shut his eyes tight, he could feel his mind going into places he was sure he'd buried over the last year. How his boyfriend of five years, his high school sweetheart, Neji Hyuga, looked as he hovered over that prick Kiba inuzuka, a guy he'd considered a best friend from way back when; both of them naked and looking over at Naruto who'd just come from visiting his mother in the hospital.

"Fuck," Naruto took another long drag of the cigarette then rubbed his brow with his wrist. Thinking about this shit wasn't going to do him any good.

No matter how many times he's told himself that, somehow, the images continue to find their way back.

He ditched the half smoked cigarette, tossing it onto the concrete and letting it burn out on its own. He was going to crash at his father's house, his old family home, out in Ginza. It was a long ride from the city, but being there always felt more comforting than being alone in his apartment. Turning, he made his way to the Shinjuku train station in the Business District that wasn't too far of a walk from the Red Light District. Naruto had a feeling that wasn't a strange coincidence. Most of his costumers were businessmen, too ashamed to come out, but too horny to say no to temptation. It was interesting the types of stories his drunken customers would spill out to him when they were on their fourth or fifth shot.

As he neared the train station he felt himself craving a little boost. The Coffee Shop was a café located in one of the fancy office building downtown. The coffee was a little expensive, but Naruto wasn't opposed to spending a few extra dollars when it was worth it.

Forgoing the station's entrance, Naruto walked three more blocks up till he reached a tall, gold and silver office building that looked more like a hotel. The only way to get to the café's entrance was through the lobby. Naruto ignored the side-eyed looks and sneers he got from the snobby high-class assholes that looked at him like he was some sort of street rat. He walked through until he made it to his destination and pushed through the double doors, immediately hugged by the smell of freshly ground espresso beans.

The woman behind the counter with two cute buns in her hair spotted him as he entered and called out to him, "Hey Naruto! Good morning," Her name was TenTen. She went to his school, but he hadn't actually known her until he started coming to this coffee shop. The first time he'd been there had been with Neji. He remembered joking to his then boyfriend that TenTen had a little crush on him. That joke wasn't so funny anymore.

"Hey Ten, how's it hanging?" He said through a yawn as his hand moved to cover his mouth. She didn't respond. It was just as a formality anyway. She continued ringing up her costumers instead. There were a few people in line ahead of him so he waited patiently, tapping his foot to a tune that was stuck in his head. When it was finally his turn to order, he leaned against the high counter on his elbows and laid his head down. TenTen laughed, patting his head gently as he pretended to take a nap.

"Long night at work, huh?" She said and he sat up to smile at her.

"Yeah, too long." He yawned again and turned his head so that TenTen wasn't assaulted with his overnight breath. "You just got in?" He looked around. There was a line forming behind him. Weekday mornings were always crazy busy. He realized he probably shouldn't hold up the line for his idle chitchatting, but a bigger part of him didn't care. TenTen didn't seem to mind either as she continued their small talk, letting the girl at the second register take on the next few orders.

Finally, Naruto put in his order and slid to the side, giving the fuming man behind him a cheeky grin. A couple minutes later, TenTen placed a caramel macchiato in front of him and smiled. "Here ya go, Naruto."

Naruto grabbed the drink and took a sip. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he let out a slow, throaty moan. "Mh, this is perfect Ten," He said before licking the foam from his lips.

TenTen rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Don't be nasty." Naruto grinned and shrugged. He took another sip, this time like a normal person. TenTen shook her head, but the warmth in her eyes wasn't lost. "Hey," she spoke up again as she moved to make a drink for the next customer. Her tone had undoubtably changed, "You doing better?"

The playfulness in Naruto's face and body seemed to melt away. _Not again_. He looked away from TenTen and solemnly took another sip. She didn't know much about what happened between him and Neji, but she knew the gist. And on top of that, Naruto's demeanor had been so completely different in the past year in comparison to how it was when he'd first come into the café one morning hanging onto Neji; apparently hungover from a night of dancing at the club he now worked at.

"I'm okay," Naruto finally spoke and nodded. It was as if he was not only affirming TenTen, but himself as well.

TenTen nodded back, seeming to consider his short response. After a moment she sighed and leaned back, sending Naruto a reassuring smile. "Well I'm glad," even though she didn't know Naruto that well, she still felt like she wanted to support him.

Naruto smiled and raised his macchiato up at her. "Thanks for the drink, babe." He turned to leave after that. Again, someone had to bring up Neji. Didn't they get that he didn't want to talk about it? He knew they meant well, but all he wanted was to wipe all of those memories away.

Leaving the café, he was back in the lobby of the office building. He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't seen the man walking in his direction until he had completely slammed into a hard chest. He nearly fell onto the ground when a tight grip on his arm saved him. He looked up and nearly choked on the amount of air he'd subconsciously inhaled. His bright blue eyes met disturbingly dark ones. The man he'd bumped into was gorgeous. He was tall and had a body like someone in those gay porn movies he used to sneak into his house. The title, "Good Will Humping" suddenly came to mind. The man's face was flawless, angled in the right places and perfectly framed by silky black hair. If it wasn't for the murderous look he was giving Naruto, Naruto would have considered asking the man for his number.

Naruto's eyes trailed downward until he found the source of the mysterious man's irritation. "Oh," was all he'd managed to say. Naruto straightened; letting his arm fall from the stranger's grip as his other hand rose to cover his open mouth in shock.

The mysterious man had shoulder length black hair and was wearing designer black slacks, dress shoes and a midnight blue collar shirt that now had an ugly brown stain ruining the entire front. More of the liquid traveled further down and threatened to reach his slacks.

"Oh man, damn dude. I am so sorry," Naruto all but sputtered out the words. "Hold on, hold on," Naruto turned and dashed back into the café. TenTen gave him a curious look when he re-entered, but he ignored it. He trashed the crushed coffee cup and snatched a few napkins before heading back out to the soiled stranger.

The man was still standing there. His arms were crossed and his eyes were narrowed hard as he stared down at Naruto's antics.

"Okay, it might look really bad, but…" Naruto began as he pushed the napkins up against the stain and began swiping away at it "I'm sure its not as bad is it looks". He wasn't surprised when he'd felt the hard muscles under the stranger's shirt. He tried not to think about it.

Suddenly, pale hands swatted his away. Naruto took a step back, now holding wet napkins in his hands as he examined the stain. It was bad. Naruto looked back up at the man's face. Naruto felt himself gulp. The heat in the man's eyes was enough to give him goosebumps.

"Erm…" Naruto's arms went slack. He could feel the eyes of the people walking around and passing by them. At least it was less likely that this guy would slug him with this many witnesses.

Finally the man moved. He shook his head and looked down at himself, then returned his glare to Naruto. His eyes never left the quivering blond as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an expensive looking phone. He tapped the screen a few times before holding it up to his ear.

A second passed before he spoke into the device. The mysterious man's deep voice had Naruto's mind wandering to places he knew it shouldn't. Naruto swallowed, doing his best to suppress those devilish thoughts. "Be at my office in five minutes, and bring one of my shirts," the man said, finally taking his eyes off of Naruto to reexamine his Armani shirt with an angry grimace.

The man removed the phone from his ear and tapped on the screen. A second later he slipped the phone into his pocket and began walking back in the direction he'd initially been heading.

Naruto's mouth hung open. He just walked off as if Naruto had never existed.

Naruto jogged up to the man and tapped his back. The man stopped and turned sharply to face him, his eyes still narrowed as he looked down at Naruto.

Naruto scratched the back of his head as he began to speak, "Hey man, I'm sorry about your shirt. Maybe I could pay you back somehow? Get it dry-cleaned or something?"

The man turned to fully face Naruto. Then, the man spoke to him for the first time, "Don't bother," was all he said, then resumed his walking towards, what Naruto could now tell, was where the elevators were located.

For some odd reason, Naruto couldn't leave it alone. He sped up to the man again, walking beside him as he went. "Seriously? I mean, that's a pretty nasty stain," he observed, and then looked up to the man's face. He wasn't even looking at him. It was really bothering Naruto. Clearly the man was going into work and Naruto had potentially ruined the better half of the man's morning. What if the guy had a meeting or whatever important shit businessmen did? Naruto shook his head, trying to wean himself off the guilty feeling bubbling up within him. When they reached the elevator, he made a hasty decision and hopped forward then in front of the man to block his path. "Okay look," and the man finally did. Those dark eyes met his once again. Naruto suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable and exposed, but he pushed that unsettling feeling aside. "I work at a bar—well club, not too far from here called Club Locust on the second floor. Come anytime after one in the morning on a Friday or Saturday and I'll make you as many drinks as you want. On me." Naruto grinned, finding his solution to be the most fitting one. The man didn't comment. He reached behind Naruto and pressed the up button on the elevator. Naruto wondered if the man had even been listening to him.

With a heavy sigh, he gave up. He moved out of the way as the doors opened and allowed the man, who's name he still didn't know, to slip inside. Naruto lifted his sullen head as a thought came to mind.

"I'm Naruto, by the way!" He called out as just before the doors closed. He thought maybe the man had looked his way, but it happened too fast for him to really know. He felt a little embarrassed now. It wasn't as though people were too surprised by his appearance. All types of people came into this prestigious office building simply for the coffee shops and other restaurants that resided on the lobby level. But none of them were as loud and they usually didn't smell like alcohol and cigarettes. Naruto looked down at himself and sniffed at his shirt.

He scrunched up his nose at the smell. It wasn't horrible, but he was in definite need of a shower.

He walked away from the elevator, out the lobby and back onto the main street. Naruto yawned. Dammit, he'd lost his coffee and now there was nothing to temporarily cure his drowsiness. He vaguely wondered if that mysterious man would take him up on his offer.

* * *

Around 4pm Naruto woke up on his father's couch. He didn't have the strength to carry himself up the steps to his old bedroom. He'd spent the most of his time in the past year at his old house. At first it was to help out with cleaning and cooking. Without his mom around his dad seemed like a stranded puppy in more need than Naruto would ever know. A year ago in October, his mother had passed away the day before his birthday. She had liver cancer. They all knew it was coming, but even still, it had hit them hard.

His apartment near his college campus was likely collecting dust. Shikamaru wasn't completely wrong about him not wanting to run into Neji and Kiba. Kiba used to be his roommate. After finding him on the couch with his boyfriend, at the very least, Kiba had the decency to move out. Now the two lived together in some apartment complex a few blocks from him. Or at least, that what his friend, Sakura Haruno, had told him. She was a childhood friend of both Kiba and Naruto. She was obviously guilty about staying friends with the both of them, but Naruto had said he didn't care. It was the truth. It wouldn't be fair for him to rip them apart. Even if that's what Kiba had done to him.

"Good afternoon sleepy head," Naruto rolled onto his back to stare up at his father, Minato. He looked much older than he did two years ago before his mother was diagnosed. His forty-five year old father was looking like he was pushing sixty. Naruto was happy, at least, that his father was smiling again.

"Afternoon," Naruto said in a yawn. He sat up and rubbed the back of his messy hair before looking down at himself. He was still dressed in his boxers and his tight black top with the letters CL engraved on the breast pocket. He also had a fleece blanket draped over his legs, no doubt from his dad.

"Want some brunch?" Minatoasked, sitting beside Naruto with a cup of coffee. He switched on the TV and flipped through the channels until he landed on animal planet.

"Nah,"Naruto let out another yawn, this time stretching his arms over his head and letting his bones pop. "I'm gonna head back to my apartment. I've got evening class in," he checked his watch, "a little less than two hours."

"Hop to it then," Minatosaid, his eyes never leaving the program about how kangaroos raise their young.

A quick shower later and Naruto was brushing his teeth. He put on a pair of comfortable stonewashed skinny jeans and a bright orange polo. When he was finished, he slipped on his converse by the door along with the messenger bag he'd left on the coat rack. "Later dad," He waved at his father who was still staring mesmerized at the kangaroo program. He received an absentminded wave in return. He smiled and shook his head at his easy-to-impress father before he left, locking the door behind him.

His phone buzzed as he made his way down the street to the bullet train station. He slipped his phone from his back pocket and read the messages on his lock screen. He had a few he'd ignored when he was at work and hadn't bothered to check. Two from Sakura asking about when he was going back to his apartment, one from his dad asking if he was working, a couple more from Sakura and a few from Shikamaru and Chouji, who was also Ino's boyfriend of five years.

Then there was one from Hinata… He paused at the name. She was Neji's cousin. He didn't want to stop being friends with her, but it had been awkward talking to her over the past year. She'd attended his mother's funeral along with Neji and Kiba. He managed to smile at her without looking like he wanted to murder her cousin and his traitor of a "best friend". Since then they'd text every now and then, but they hadn't actually hung out since the break up. She asked him if he wanted to have coffee with her on Sunday. He'd think about it.

Scrolling through a few more he sighed before slipping his phone into his back pocket. He could tell it was going to be a long night.

* * *

After his three-hour class it was 9pm. He got to his apartment ten minutes later and dropped his bag on the floor next to the door. Only six more months on the lease and he could finally get the hell out of this apartment filled with nothing but bad memories. He'd remembered how excited he and Kiba were when they found this place. It was perfect! It was a two bedroom, two bathroom space with a balcony and big enough living room so that Kiba's oversized dog could run around without breaking anything. Hell, if there was anyone Naruto missed it was Akamaru.

Naruto went to the fridge and snatched a beer before entering the living room to plop down on the couch. He'd thrown his old couch out after he'd found the two traitors on it playing tonsil hockey with their dicks out.

The vibration of his phone in his back pocket startled him. He pulled it out and answered without checking the caller ID.

"Yo," he said lazily as he searched for his TV remote.

"Naruto, you ass!" He cringed at the high-pitched voice screeching at him over the speaker.

"Jesus Sakura, what crawled up your butt?" He found the remote squished between the two sofa cushions. He turned it on and tuned it to Cartoon Network. A cartoon was on that he'd never seen before.

"You, you jackass! I've been calling and texting you for three days. Ever think to check your phone?" Naruto frowned, feeling guilty. He didn't even realize he was ignoring her messages. He just didn't text back much anymore.

"Sorry," he grumbled. She let out a long sigh; he could tell she was pacing around her apartment.

"You're lucky Ino called me this morning. She told me Shikamaru came to see you. I was two seconds away from staking out your apartment." Her voice sounded softer. She seemed to be calming down. "Dammit Naruto, a little warning next time you go off the grid?"

"Yeah, okay," He scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed. Sakura was like his big sister, even though they were the same age. Whenever she scolded him it made him think about the times his mother had caught him sneaking cookies out of the kitchen during Christmas dinners. "Sorry, I've been hanging out at my dads for a while. 'Been losing track of time. I wasn't trying to ignore you."

The line went silent for a moment. Naruto checked his phone to see if she had hung up. When he saw that the call was still active he placed the phone back against his ear.

"How's your dad doing?" Sakura finally spoke up.

"He's okay. Hanging in there. He's doing a lot better."

"What about you?"

Naruto sighed, should've seen that coming. "What about me?"

Sakura let out a strange noise sounding almost like a scoff. Naruto raised his eyebrow at the noise, even though he knew she couldn't see it. "You know what I mean, Naruto."

"No. I don't," This was getting annoying. He knew his friends worried about him, but he could take care of himself. He didn't need them butting in and constantly asking him how he was _feeling._ He took a sip of his beer.

"Naruto," she said, her tone signifying a warning.

"Sakura," Naruto mimicked.

"Look, if you don't want to talk about Neji and Kiba then…"

"And I don't," he added before she could finish.

"Then that's fine. But, you know I'm here if you need to talk. I just wish you wouldn't shut me out. I wish…" She paused. Naruto could feel himself tensing up. "I wish you could go back to the way you used to be. The happy Naruto I grew up with. I know this past year has been really shitty, but…"

"I get it…" He cut in, this time sounding exhausted. He hated himself for being this way, but he couldn't control the way he felt. The anger that had built up over the past year was intense and hard to beat. He needed time.

"Hey," Sakura spoke, her tone sounding lighter. She was obviously trying to brighten the grim mood. "You want to hang out with Lee and me this Sunday. We were planning on catching a movie and maybe checking out that new restaurant that's opened up over in Shinjuku."

Naruto laughed, "Nah," he shook his head. "I don't want to be a third wheel for you and Speedy." As much as he loved her boyfriend, Rock Lee, the guy could be a headache to hang out with. It was like hanging out with a cross between your high school gym teacher and a ten year old who'd just eaten all of their Halloween candy. The guy had energy. No doubt he was good in bed. He'd made that joke a few times and each time Sakura had blushed and smacked him on the back of the head for it.

"Aw Naruto, you know you'd never be a third wheel to me." He could practically hear the pout in her voice and it made him chuckle, but he shook his head again.

"No thanks. You two kids have fun though. Besides…" He hesitated for a moment. He wasn't sure if he should talk to Sakura about Hinata. She might make it a bigger deal than it actually was. Then again, maybe Naruto was making it a bigger deal than it was. He and Hinata had been friends long before he even knew Neji existed. He knew he shouldn't cut her out like this, but...

"Besides what?"

"Well… Hinata sent me a text. Wants to meet up on Sunday." The line went quiet for another awkward moment.

"Oh." Was all Sakura managed to say. "Well," she cleared her throat. "You should go."

"I should?" Naruto took a long gulp of his beer. The last time he'd really hung out with Hinata was with Neji. They went to the beach together. Kiba had come along too. He'd remembered thinking it was odd that both Neji and Kiba went to the bathroom together and took thirty minutes to come back. Neji told him that they were stuck in a long line and Kiba had dropped his class ring in the sand so they spent some time looking for it. He was stupid to believe them.

"… me she misses you."

"Hm?" He had to blink himself out of those treacherous thoughts. He didn't need to go there.

"I said, she asked me about you the other day. She told me she misses you." He missed her too. It's just that whenever he looked into those pale eyes, he saw him. The way he used to look at him. The day they first kissed. When he took his virginity and those pale eyes stared down at him, promising things they had no business promising.

"I miss her too," he said honestly. He closed his eyes and finished off his beer. Damn it, he hated thinking about those times. He hated remembering.

"How about we double then?" Sakura spoke up, her tone bubbly and excited as if she'd just had the brightest idea of the year.

"Double? You know I'm gay right?"

Sakura chuckled, "No shit. You know what I meant. Plus, I miss you too, you know? I never get to see you and we go to the same university for crying out loud." She was right. Even though all of her classes were in the School of Medicine building while his were in the Liberal Arts building, they still went to the same school and the buildings weren't too far from each other. Hinata went to Sunagakura, which just allowed him a better excuse when he was feeling too awkward to see her.

"Fine." He conceded. "You're right. We can double, I guess." He rolled his eyes at the idea.

"Yay! I'm so excited. I feel like I haven't seen you in years." It might as well have been. The last time he'd seen her was a month ago. Spending most of his time at his dad's meant less time in the city where most of his friends were.

"It's a date then."

"It's a date."

* * *

Friday turned to Saturday and Naruto was on his way to work. He was still in his comfortably tight jeans but changed into the clean black work shirt he'd kept in his apartment. He'd left the one from the night before at his dad's. This one was just a tee shirt with the full words "CLUB LOCUST" written in bold white letters across his chest. It was a tight shirt that clung to his body like a second skin. He preferred to wear the collar shirt more because, while the tee shirt gave him more tips, it also drew in more douchebags who were looking for something he wasn't willing to offer.

It was 12:30am when he'd finally made it into Shinjuku where Club Locust resided. A line had already formed at the door and was quickly wrapping around the corner. At 12:45am he banged on the door. Seconds later it swung open revealing a burly looking man with a mean face.

"Sup Naruto, you're early." The bouncer stepped to the side and opened the door up just enough for Naruto to slip through. He quickly shut the door once Naruto was in to make sure no one got stupid and tried to slip through with him.

"Hey Kisame." Naruto nodded at the much larger man as he passed him and went towards the stairs.

By the time he'd settled behind the bar on the second floor the music was pumping and people were getting stamped and heading in. Saturdays were great for tips, but were damn exhausting.

When it hit 4am, most of the patrons were at their peak. They were dancing with people they didn't know, grinding and leaning on strangers, throwing their arms in the air and enjoying being alive. Naruto smiled out at the crowd, only seeing them through the colors of the flashing lights. They were all going to have killer headaches once morning came and the alcohol is drained from their systems. He couldn't remember the number of shots he'd poured in the last hour alone.

While he was shaking up a margarita for a pretty, redheaded American girl, a new patron moved in his peripheral. He looked over in time to see a familiar, tall man take a seat at the bar. Naruto tried not to look as surprised as he felt. Throughout the course of the day, Naruto had managed to push the man from the previous morning out of his mind. He hardly expected the man to take him up on his offer. And here he was, staring back into those dark, mysterious eyes.

Naruto slid closer to the man's side of the bar and placed a small napkin down in front of him.

"So," Naruto smiled to himself as he spoke before his eyes drifted up from the napkin to meet the familiar stranger's. He leaned against the bar on his elbows, "You decided to come."


	2. Sasuke Uchiha

"So... you decided to come," Naruto said with a goofy smile on his face.

The man met his eyes, but to Naruto's disappointment, he hadn't responded to his obvious statement. Naruto wondered if he hadn't because the answer was, in fact, obvious.

"Get me a glass of whiskey." The man finally said.

"Whiskey?" Naruto felt himself blushing for no good reason. The man's voice really was doing things to him he couldn't quite describe. "Any preference?" He tried to sound normal.

"Nothing sweet." Naruto nodded.

After pouring the man's drink he leaned over the bar to hand it over. The man grabbed it, his fingers grazing Naruto's. Naruto jerked back. The man looked up at him, raising an eyebrow at Naruto's skittish behavior before taking a sip of the hard liquor.

Naruto walked off to help another customer. He didn't know what to make of this guy.

He tried not to think too much on it as he tended to more and more clubbers. A few minutes past and his eyes landing back on the mysterious man sitting at his bar. He walked over and poked the man's hand that was idly turning the mostly empty glass. When those dark eyes looked up at him, he gulped, feeling nervous, but gave his best smile.

"Did you get your shirt taken care of?" He asked, because fuck if he knew if there was something better to talk about. The man simply nodded, and Naruto honestly hadn't expected more. Naruto's eyes rolled upwards and around, as if he was searching for something else to say and perhaps it was somewhere around the bar where he could reach out and grab it. "Sorry again..." The man looked up from his drink. "About the coffee and…your shirt." He knew he was making things awkward.

"Hn," the man shrugged and took the last sip of his whiskey. Naruto couldn't place the feeling that was coming over him. He was obviously attracted to the man, and for some reason it was causing him to act like a fifteen-year-old who's never gotten his dick sucked. He realized the man probably thought he was just some stupid kid. He didn't look much older, but his demeanor proved to Naruto that he was at least five or six years his senior.

Naruto turned away when he heard a voice call out to him. It was a young man wearing a neon tank top. He went about making drinks for him and his friends. After finishing the last drink Naruto worked on mixing up something special. He pulled out a new, clean mixer and poured in cinnamon mix, Angostura bitters, Pastis, and Rye Whiskey inside. He shook it up well before pouring it into a glass with ice and sliding it over to the mysterious man.

The man eyed the drink placed in front of him. Hesitating, he rose the glass to his lips and took a small sip. He tasted it for a bit and looked like he was thinking it over before speaking, "It's too sweet". Naruto grinned at the man, ignoring his comment, and turned away to take care of the group of newcomers that approached his bar.

Once that little rush was over, Naruto went back over, his blue eyes daring to meet those piercing dark orbs. "So, can I get a name now?"

"Hn," The man nodded and took another sip of his too-sweet drink. "Sasuke" he finally answered and Naruto nodded.

"So what are you doing here so late, Sasuke?" Technically it was early. It was nearing 5am now. Naruto went over to refill someone's draft. The bar was growing thinner by now. Most of the customers started to dwindle away around this time. When Naruto came back he rested his elbows on the bar and leaned forward a bit. Sasuke took another sip of his drink and shrugged.

"I came when I was free. I assumed the offer still stood." That was the most he'd heard come from the man's, or rather, Sasuke's mouth and he felt himself physically being drawn closer to him as he spoke. It was as if each word held a gravitational quality to it.

"Come for a little stress relief, huh?" Naruto grinned again, feeling cheeky for reasons he couldn't quite explain.

Sasuke's dark eyes raked down Naruto's body. It was the first time Naruto saw something other than boredom in those dark eyes and it made his cheeks feel warm. Sasuke took another sip before he spoke, "Something like that."

Hearing that made Naruto's face heat up all the way to his ears. He turned and began grabbing empty glasses from the bar along with the bills that lay beside them. He went over to the register and put in a few orders, pocketing the tips.

Naruto bit his lip as he did his best to ignore the dark-haired man, Sasuke, sitting at his bar. He could feel those cold eyes on him. He wasn't quite sure where this was going. What's more, he wasn't sure if he was ready for where he thought it may be going.

He took some time to busy himself with other tasks to clear his head. Sasuke didn't seem like he was in any rush to go anywhere. Naruto wiped down the bar and collected more used glasses. When it didn't seem like anyone new was going to order anything, Naruto went over to close the register. Typing in a few numbers he opened the drawer and discreetly counted the money. Two counts later he sat the money back in and locked it.

Once he was finished Naruto turned around to face Sasuke and cleared his throat. He walked back over and leaned against the bar on his elbows as he did before. Looking over, he caught sight of some drunken guy he'd served five whiskey shots to smiling at him. Naruto grinned, waving to the man goodbye as he watched him turn and stumble down the stairs. The lights turned on. It was 5:30am. Even though the club was technically open until 6am, it was only to give the workers enough time to kick everyone out. Naruto smiled and pointed up. "Party's over." He grabbed Sasuke's glass and, without thinking, he swallowed the last of the drink. He pretended not to notice the way Sasuke watched him, placed the empty glass it under the bar along with the rest of the dirty dishes.

Without warning, Sasuke got up from his stool. Naruto looked up at him.

As Sasuke turned to leave, Naruto spoke up, "Where're you heading now? Got work soon?" He turned and used the register to punch out then rounded the bar to where Sasuke stood. He hadn't brought anything to work with him aside from his phone, wallet, house keys and cigarettes, which were all snug in his back and front pockets.

Sasuke looked down at Naruto as he came to stand beside him. He gave Naruto a look like he wanted to strip him and swallow him whole. Naruto's swallowed in return. He was ashamed to admit that apart of him wouldn't mind this Sasuke guy eating him up the way his eyes told him he wanted to.

"I don't work on Saturdays." He leaned closer to Naruto and smirked, his eyes narrowed, "Gives me the time I need to relieve that stress you mentioned." Naruto felt a devilish shiver run up his spine. Sasuke moved away and for a moment Naruto was too stunned to realize what had just happened.

Quickly snapping out of it, Naruto followed Sasuke down the stairs and out of the building. He waved goodbye to a few coworkers he recognized, but didn't know by name. The last person he saw was the very tired looking bouncer, Kisame. Saturday shifts were the worst when it comes to how many underage idiots tried to sneak in with their shitty fake IDs. He felt sorry for the man.

"Later Kisame," Naruto waved with a sympathetic smile. The bouncer made a gruff noise and gave a nod in return.

Outside, the sun was rising and the sky was a pale blue and orange. Naruto pulled his pack of cigarettes out as he usually did after a long shift and placed one between his lips. Closing his eyes he lit the cigarette and inhaled. When he opened his eyes again Sasuke was already walking off without him. Naruto wondered if he should follow. This was such a bad idea, but at the same time…

Naruto looked behind him in the direction leading to the train station, then back at Sasuke who was just about to round the corner out of the alleyway. Naruto scratched the back of his head, took another long drag of his cigarette and tossed it onto the ground before jogging after him.

They walked side by side for about a minute or so. Neither said a word. Two blocks later and they were entering a parking garage and, soon after, approaching a sleek black sports car. Sasuke walked around the car to the driver's side and got in. Again, Naruto had to wonder if this was the right thing to do. Well hell, he knew it wasn't the _right_ thing to do. But, was he willing to take the risk?

The car's engine revved. Naruto had no doubt that Sasuke was willing to drive off and leave him standing there.

"Fuck it," Naruto finally decided. He opened the passenger side's door and plopped into the seat. As soon as his seat belt was buckled Sasuke put the car into reverse and backed out of the parking space.

The entire ride was silent. Naruto was forced to stare out the window. The least the guy could do was put on the radio. Naruto was feeling too nervous to ask. He'd never been home with a stranger before, let alone a customer of his. He'd never even slept with anyone other than Neji. They'd started dating when he was fifteen. Back then they were both virgins. A year after they started dating, Neji finally asked him if they could give it a try. Naruto was terrified. But, he agreed because he was stupidly in love.

Look where that got him?

He grit his teeth and shook his head, as if the thoughts would come tumbling out of his ears. He crossed his arms over his chest and rubbed his exposed arms. Sasuke reached out and turned a knob to raise the temperature. Naruto watched him from the corner of his eye, but didn't say anything.

Ten minutes later they arrived at a tall building in the center of the Tokyo Business District. Naruto did well to stop himself from gawking at it when they pulled up. Sasuke parked his car at the entrance and got out. Naruto quickly scurried out after him. Sasuke handed his keys to the doorman as he walked by. Naruto tried not to look skittish as he followed him inside the elegant building. He even waved awkwardly at the doorman who returned it as if he'd never been waved to before in his life. Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets, too tempted to touch all the shiny statues and accents, afraid that if he did he would set off some type of burglar alarm. He settled on letting his eyes roam over everything as he passed. There were a few people up, obviously business people or their spouses hanging around the lobby on their expensive phones and laptops. He even saw an older woman carrying a small dog around in her purse the way they did in those American movies.

When they'd stopped in front of the elevator, Naruto felt his nerves bubbling up again. Anxiety was twisting and pulling at his insides making him feel mildly nauseous. He was acting like a fifteen-year-old again. It was both irritating and exhilarating.

The doors opened and Sasuke stepped inside first. Again, it felt as if Naruto could just stand there and Sasuke would have no problem letting the doors close right in his face. He didn't make a move to hold them open when he saw Naruto hesitate.

Swallowing down some of his nerves, Naruto stepped forward into the elevator and turned to watch the doors close. Naruto's eyes followed Sasuke's hand as it reached out and pressed the button to the seventeenth floor. The ride was agonizingly slow. He wondered if it was too late to back out.

When the doors opened Naruto made to step out but Sasuke stopped him, placing a strong hand on his chest. Two women entered. One was wearing a pantsuit while the other wore a short dress and a blazer. Naruto looked up at the number lit up over the doors. They were on the ninth floor. He looked over at Sasuke who wasn't even looking at him and simply lowered his arm. He huffed, feeling a bit embarrassed, but deciding it was better to just relax.

"Good morning Uchiha-san," the woman in the pantsuit spoke. Both women gave small bows in greeting. _Uchiha, huh?_ Naruto thought the name over, feeling like he'd heard it before.

"Hn," Sasuke nodded at the women. They rode up to the eleventh floor and gave small waves as they left. Their eyes hadn't even landed on Naruto. It was as if he didn't exist. In retrospect, he likely didn't in their little world of diamond rings, vacation homes and clothes that could easily fund all four years of his University fees.

"Moron," Sasuke teased once the women were gone. Naruto shot him a glare, but didn't retaliate.

Finally, the elevator stopped on the seventeenth floor and Sasuke got off first. Naruto followed him down the hall to the last door that read 1709. Sasuke typed in a succession of numbers in the keypad and a light click sounded. He twisted the knob and led the way in. Naruto closed the door behind him, toeing off his shoes along with Sasuke and setting them by the door.

The posh, sleek apartment didn't surprise him. He'd had enough clues to know that he wasn't going to walk into some dump. The furniture was all black leathers and rustic woods. Large paintings decorated the walls. Naruto wondered if they were authentic; must have cost a fortune. The carpet was a plush, dusty gray color; the coffee table in the middle of the living room was a rich brown and made of a jagged cut out slice of mahogany. To top it off, there was a larger than life TV mounted on the wall of exposed brick directly across from the long leather sofa.

Sasuke walked further into the apartment, tossing his jacket over the back of the couch as he made his way into the kitchen. Naruto watched him go, his eyes focusing on those Sasuke's hands as they worked to roll up the cuffs of his collar shirt until they were folded just above his elbows. A bar separated the kitchen and the living room. Naruto stepped up and slid onto one of the stools. Sasuke pulled out two wine glasses from a top cupboard, then an unopened bottle of red wine from one of two wine cabinets below him. As Sasuke popped the cork from the bottle, the irony was not lost on Naruto.

He bounced anxiously in his seat, hoping he didn't look prepubescent, but far too filled with nerves to keep still.

"Are you nervous?" Sasuke finally spoke, his dark eyes slid up to examine the skittish blond as he finished pouring the first glass and moved on to the next.

Naruto glared at him. Sasuke closed his eyes and let out a small, deep chuckle as he finished pouring the second glass. "Shut up," Naruto pouted, crossing his arms and looking away. Sasuke shook his head and slid one of the glasses over. He held his glass up in a half-toast, before taking a sip. His eyes went down again, looking over Naruto's body like it was a slab of meat.

Naruto cleared his throat, taking a sip of the bitter wine. He scrunched his nose at the taste. He hated this fancy shit. If it wasn't beer or orange juice, it really wasn't worth drinking.

He could feel Sasuke watching him, so he forced himself to drink a little bit more before looking around the apartment once again. "So, how old are you?" The question had been nagging at the back of his mind for quite some time.

Sasuke took another sip, his intense gaze never leaving Naruto even as his blond companion feigned disinterest. "I'm thirty-two," he took another sip. Naruto looked back at Sasuke, his eyebrows raised as he took in the answer.

After swallowing a good amount the bitter liquid, not wanting to waste something that was likely expensive enough to pay his electricity bill, Naruto let out a long, low whistle. "Thirty-two? Wow, that's twelve years over me." Naruto said more to himself than to Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded, though seemed genuinely uninterested. He placed his half empty glass onto the counter and moved around the bar to where Naruto sat. Naruto rotated his body in the stool, placing his glass next to Sasuke's as his eyes and body followed Sasuke's movements.

In seconds, Sasuke was in front of him. His strong arms reached out and held onto the counter behind Naruto. Naruto could feel his skin getting warm from their close proximity. Sasuke took a small step closer and Naruto had no choice but to open his legs so that Sasuke's body could fit between them.

Naruto was feeling a little woozy from the wine. He knew he'd drank it a bit too fast. Another reason why Naruto preferred beer over any other alcohol was his weak tolerance to anything over five percent. Regardless, it did help calm his nerves a bit. On the other hand, Naruto couldn't help but be a little impressed. He'd fed Sasuke two shots at the bar along with his special concoction and Sasuke'd also drank a considerable amount of wine, yet he didn't look the slightest bit tipsy. Maybe it was all that muscle. Naruto found himself staring down at Sasuke's shirt, the way it clung to his body; how he could make out even the smallest curves of his muscles this close up.

Naruto looked back up, snapping himself out of his gawking to meet Sasuke's amused eyes.

"I take it you like what you see?" The words only held the slightest bit of humor. He said it the same way a waiter would ask if their guest liked what was on the desert menu. Naruto hated how that deep voice had him stirring in his jeans that weren't so comfortably tight anymore. Naruto cleared his throat and glared up at Sasuke for being cocky.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're obnoxious?"

Sasuke shrugged, as if taking the question seriously, he answered, "No." Then his lips dipped down and caught Naruto's by surprise. It sent a light shock of electricity through Naruto's chest to the pit of his stomach. Instinct pulled Naruto's hands toward Sasuke's chest, allowing them to run up smooth muscles before wrapping his arms around Sasuke's neck, effectively pulling him closer. One of Sasuke's hands had a firm hold on his back, while another trailed south, cupping Naruto's ass and yanking him forward. A gasp from Naruto briefly disconnected their lips and Sasuke took the opportunity to lightly bite down on Naruto's exposed lower lip. A throaty moan vibrated from Naruto as his eyes rolled back. His body was tingling from the friction between them and their grinding erections. Naruto's legs seemed to wrap around Sasuke on their own, as if they had no other choice. He needed to feel more.

Sasuke all but sensed his thoughts. One hand went down between Naruto's legs and began undoing the zipper of Naruto's jeans. Sasuke broke the kiss, leaving a trail of nips, licks and kisses down Naruto's throat as he worked on pulling Naruto's jeans off. Forced to break apart, Naruto lifted his butt so that Sasuke could get his jeans past his hips. Then, with one quick yank, Sasuke had claimed both his boxers and his jeans and tossed them to the side. Next he grabbed the hem of Naruto's shirt and pulled it over his head, carelessly dropping it to the floor with the rest of his discarded clothes.

Naruto couldn't help but feel a little shy now, being the only one so completely naked. His hands wrapped around to cover parts of himself and to his surprise, Sasuke, the man who seemed colder than ice, gave him a reassuring smile.

Sasuke leaned forward, cupping his cheek in one hand to bring his face up for another kiss. This one was slower than the first, less needy but more deep and languid. Sasuke took time to explore Naruto's mouth. His tasted him, smoothing his tongue against Naruto's; eliciting a slew of soft moans and shivers from Naruto. Sasuke ran his hands down Naruto's back to his ass, finally able to grab it the way he'd wanted to when he'd first seen Naruto bend over behind the Club Locust bar to get a drink form some drunk nobody. He squeezed both cheeks and gave the right one a hard slap. Naruto jumped, gasped and nearly crumbled in his arms.

Naruto reached down and grabbed at Sasuke's belt. Sasuke broke the kiss and allowed Naruto to undress him. His face showing no real emotion, but his eyes, those beautifully narrowed eyes, were filled with an incredible amount of lust. It had Naruto reeling.

After a few failed attempts due to his shaky hands, Naruto was finally able to get the belt off. He slid it out of the loops of Sasuke's pants and threw it to the side. Clearly Sasuke wasn't concerned about tossed clothes in his uppity apartment, so he wouldn't be either. He next went for Sasuke's shirt, unbuttoning it one by one. Sasuke was torturing him. He didn't lift a single finger to help. Even if Naruto messed up, he just stared and waited patiently.

Once the last button was undone, Naruto slide the shirt off and let it fall to the floor. His eyes focused on the hard body presented to him. He couldn't help but run his hands down the taunt muscles, his eyes temporarily mesmerized. He looked up at Sasuke, who remained still and silent, allowing Naruto to do as he pleased. That look in his eyes…

Naruto looked away, feeling overwhelmed. He reached down and unbuttoned Sasuke's slacks and next pulling down the zipper. When he pushed down the pants he couldn't help the audible gulp as he started down at Sasuke's tight black boxer briefs. His erection was large, very hard and pressing tightly against the fabric. How was it possible to be this painfully hard and look that calm?

Naruto pulled Sasuke closer, wrapping his legs back around those strong hips. Sasuke finally moved, one arm encircling Naruto while he used his other hand to take hold of Naruto's erection. Naruto's eyes grew wide. He threw his head back, "Fuck," he breathed the word out then made a choked noise as Sasuke stroked him at an irritatingly slow pace. "Sasuke, please," he whimpered. He hadn't even known he had it in him. He'd never sounded this desperate when he was with Neji. Though admittedly, Neji had never driven him to this point before. With him, the sex had always been quick and to the point.

"Be patient," Sasuke said, almost sounding like he was scolding him, then dipped his head down to suck at a tender spot on Naruto's neck. He reached down and grabbed the underside of one of Naruto's thighs and pulled him closer.

Naruto grabbed at the sides of Sasuke's briefs and pulled them down. He pushed his body closer, craving more friction.

Sasuke let out a low growl, their erections forced together. He grabbed their dicks in his hand and continued his slow stroking. Naruto didn't know if he wanted him to speed up or not anymore. The pleasure was becoming too much. He felt his head getting foggier as they kept going. He was so lost in the moment, he couldn't even bring himself to feel embarrassed anymore at the soft mewls, moans and general throat noises that escaped him.

Sasuke's lips found their way back to his and they sucked and nipped at each other, both lost in the feeling between their legs.

"Sasuke," Naruto spoke against his lips, nearly choking as he felt his stomach clenching. "Sasuke I'm cuming." He squeezed his eyes shut and threw his head back. He didn't want it to end just yet.

But then, just as he thought he was going to last a bit longer, Sasuke leaned forward and whispered into his ear. "Do it, Naruto."

"Fuck!" Naruto cried out, his orgasm hitting him so sudden and hard. Sasuke continued to stroke them both until it seemed Naruto had been milked dry. "Shit," Naruto breathed out and leaned back lazily against the counter. He'd almost forgot that they were still in the kitchen.

Sasuke reached behind him and grabbed the roll of paper towels there. He tore off a few sheets and wiped up mess between them before tossing the used paper towel somewhere within the pile of clothes.

Sasuke smirked down at him, pulling him in for another languid kiss. Naruto sighed into his mouth, completely lost in the moment. A few seconds in and Sasuke pulled away, taking Naruto with him. Sliding off of the stool, Naruto was tugged through the elegant home down a short hallway that led to a master bedroom. Sasuke pushed the door open then lightly tugged Naruto in. The room was large and sparse. A king-sized bed took over the center of the room. There wasn't much to look at. A few professional photographs were framed and hanging on the walls. The color scheme was much like the living room: grays, blacks and chocolate. There was a TV mounted on the wall opposite of the bed, double doors that likely led to a closet Naruto could fit his entire room in and a single door that was likely the bathroom.

As he observed his surroundings, he allowed himself to be turned around until he was face to face with Sasuke's devilishly handsome face. They kissed again almost immediately, frantically wrapping their arms around each other. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's thighs and hoisted him up, surprising Naruto but not enough to break their kiss. He carried him over to the bed where he dumped him before crawling on top of him to claim those plump lips again.

Naruto arched his back, his dick fully erect again. He thrust against Sasuke's hip, encouraging Sasuke to come closer and increase the friction. Sasuke obliged, grabbing Naruto's hips and rocking their bodies together. Naruto threw his head back and Sasuke took the opportunity to bite a particularly delicious section of Naruto's neck.

"Oh God," Naruto croaked, using one hand to cover part of his face. He was starting to feel light headed. Sasuke leaned back, inspecting his breathless wonton form for a moment before he reached above Naruto's head into his nightstand.

Sasuke sat up once he'd retrieved a bottle of lube and a condom. He placed the condom between his lips before opening the bottle and squirting a considerable amount onto his fingers. He sat the bottle on the bed beside them and lifted one of Naruto's legs with his dry hand. With the other he smoothed the cool liquid over Naruto's entrance before slipping a finger inside.

Naruto hissed at the feeling, arching his back and turning his head away at the pain.

"Been a long time?" Sasuke spoke, his voice sounding calm as he slowly slid his finger in and out. The hand holding up Naruto's leg softened its grip and began rubbing his thigh, somehow effectively soothing some of the pain.

"A year," Naruto grit the words out before letting out a long shuddering breath.

Sasuke's eyes grew the slightest bit wide at the new bit of knowledge, but didn't comment on it. Instead, he slipped another lubed finger inside. Naruto cursed under his breath, wiggling around in discomfort. Sasuke eyed him carefully, slowly pushing in before he rotated and bent his fingers in different directions, searching for that certain spot.

"Shit," Naruto felt his eyes watering. His erection was slowly fading. He hadn't known after so long he'd gotten so tight. It was beginning to feel like his first time all over again. Except this time Sasuke had found it _._ With a light thrust of his fingers, Naruto jumped and sucked in a large breath. Sasuke smirked down and licked his lips at Naruto's wide-eyed expression. He pulled out and drove his fingers in again, making sure to hit that same spot that made Naruto squirm and cry out under him.

Naruto's hands reached up and grabbed Sasuke's arms. His head lulled from side to side as if he was delirious. Sasuke was relentless. He ruthlessly fucked him with his fingers, making Naruto scream each time his fingers went in all the way to abuse that same spot. Soon he had three fingers in, stretching and teasing Naruto's entrance until it felt loose enough to enter.

When Sasuke pulled his fingers out Naruto was panting and sweaty. He stared up at Sasuke with half-lidded eyes and parted lips.

"Sasuke…" he whimpered. Sasuke grabbed the condom from his lips and leaned forward to join Naruto in a sensual kiss before leaning back to prepare himself. He ripped the condom wrapper open with his teeth, absently smacking Naruto's hands away when he tried to jerk himself off as he waited.

"Be patient," Sasuke said. Naruto glared up at him, but admittedly, it didn't look very menacing when he was lying naked beneath him with his legs spread open.

Sasuke slowly slid the condom on then reached for the lube again. He squirted a little more into his hand then spread the liquid onto himself. A few strokes later he was aligning himself with Naruto's entrance. He pressed the head of his cock against Naruto's hole, moving slowly, agonizingly.

Naruto's eyes shut tightly as he squirmed. Despite all of his moving, Naruto didn't seem like he was in much pain, so Sasuke gradually pushed himself all the way in. Naruto grit his teeth and finally opened his eyes to look up at Sasuke. He didn't ask, but Naruto nodded, assuring him that he was okay. Sasuke pulled out all the way before snapping his hips forward. In one fell swoop he slammed against Naruto's prostate and Naruto let out a surprised yelp. With the urge to draw more of those delicious noises from his blond companion, Sasuke's pace increased to an incredible speed. He was pulling all the way out and thrusting all the way in, burying himself fully inside of him.

Naruto felt like he could see stars. His body was shaking and convulsing underneath Sasuke's. He couldn't remember ever feeling like this. Had Neji been able to give him this much pleasure? Had Neji made him feel like he was losing control of himself? He didn't even know it was possible for sex to feel this good until now.

Sasuke suddenly pulled out and flipped Naruto over, propping him on his hands and knees. Naruto was confused for a moment before he felt Sasuke's hands on his hips and then his dick pushing into him again. Naruto let out a surprised gasp and gripped the covers beneath him, crying out each time Sasuke slammed into him. It was too much. His head felt dizzy. Any minute now and he was going to…

"Sasuke, I'm gonna cum," he didn't even recognize his voice. One of Sasuke's hands gripped Naruto's hips tighter while the other held down Naruto's lower back. His hips snapped forward at a much faster pace. "Oh fuck!"

"Come on, Naruto," Sasuke purred above him. Damn it, he was doing it again. Naruto clenched his eyes shut and grit his teeth. Sasuke pulled Naruto up right, forcing them both to sit up straight as he continued to drive his dick inside of him hard and fast. With his lips next to Naruto's ear, Sasuke spoke again in a husky tone "Naruto." It was the first Naruto had heard even the slightest bit of desire in Sasuke's voice. It had his eyes rolling to the back of his head as his release built up. The new position made it easier for Sasuke to hit his prostate and it made Naruto's body tingle all over. With a low, almost feral cry, Naruto reached his orgasm, spilling all over his stomach, while some dripped down onto his leg.

Sasuke wasn't far behind. It only took a few more sharp thrusts before he released himself.

They both all but crumbled down onto the bed, breathing hard and unable to move.

It took a couple minutes for Sasuke to regain his composure enough to pull out of Naruto. He rolled over to the end of the bed and got up, disappearing in the room Naruto had earlier suspected was the bathroom.

Naruto watched him go through heavy eyelids. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now. Should he leave? Was Sasuke going to kick him out? Was it bad that he just wanted to lie on this expensive mattress and pass out?

He heard the water running. He knew he should probably get up and get dressed, but he was just too damn tired. Looking over to the nightstand, he got a glimpse of the clock. It was already past 7AM. Sasuke returned to the room and Naruto felt his body stiffen. He watched as Sasuke silently walked over to his dresser, unashamed of his nudity. Why should he be? They'd done enough together to not have that type of insecurity. Even so, Naruto felt the urge to cover his curled up naked body with the bed sheets. He didn't, however, only because he didn't want to assume he wasn't going to get kicked out.

Sasuke pulled out a fresh pair of black boxer briefs and slipped them on. Next he went to the bed and pulled up the covers on one side. Getting in, he didn't say a word as he lay on his stomach.

Naruto sat up, wincing a bit (damn his ass hurt) and stared down at the lump under the covers that was once Sasuke.

"Erm," Naruto scratched his chin, ignoring the dull ache in his ass and hips.

"You don't have to leave if you're tired," Sasuke spoke, his words a bit slurred, but still clear.

Naruto blinked at him. A part of him wanted to decline, but a greater part of him felt too tired from lack of sleep, a full day of work and unexpected sex with a stranger. Naruto yawned as the thought of sleep fully settled on his mind. "Thanks," he finally said. Sasuke didn't reply. Naruto assumed he was sleeping.

Naruto joined him under the covers; though the bed was so large they weren't even close to touching.

What a strange night and morning it had been. Naruto tried hard not to think over what he'd done with the man in bed with him just moments ago. He tried even harder not to grin when he thought about it. It wasn't long before sleep overcame him and he drifted off into a dreamless abyss.

* * *

Naruto woke up several hours later feeling horrible. His ass, back and thighs ached terribly and there was a dull pain in his head. To top it all off, he had cottonmouth. The only silver lining was the feathery sheets hugging his sore body and plush mattress underneath him. He shifted crankily in bed a few times, before stretching out. He felt a few bones in his back and neck pop and he let out a long breath in relief. It didn't fix much, but he felt good enough to sit up, so he did.

He rubbed a sluggish hand over his eyes as he searched for the alarm clock he'd remembered seeing before he passed out. The time on it was now 3:38pm. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head, again feeling something pop back into place.

As if he'd just remembered, he snapped his head to the other side of the bed only to see that it was empty. Puzzled, he continued to take in the vaguely familiar room. He noticed something neatly folded at the end of the bed and his phone, which was sitting on top of the pile. He crawled closer to it and picked at it. They were his clothes. He tapped on his phone and cursed under his breath. It was dead.

He picked the pile of clothes up and sniffed them. The fresh smell of lavender made his eyes widen. It seemed like they'd been washed. That included his boxers. His cheeks felt warm as he imagined Sasuke cleaning his underwear. Strange.

With the realization that he couldn't lay in this bed naked all day, Naruto got up, albeit stiffly, and pulled on his clothes. His socks had been washed as well. He didn't even remember taking them off.

It took a lot of strength to keep from limping as he approached the door. He peeked out, looking both ways. He could hear the TV on in the living room. He could also smell something meaty cooking. The smell made his stomach turn happily at the thought of food. How long had it been since he'd eaten anything?

Once he'd made it to the open space of the living room he noticed an unfamiliar man in a suit and apron standing in the kitchen stirring up that delicious smelling concoction with a spatula. Sasuke was sitting on the couch in the living room. He looked clean and refreshed. He was already fully dressed in black slacks, a steel gray button up, and black socks covered with dark navy daytime house slippers. He had a thick Rolex on his left wrist and he switched between checking the time and flipping the pages in the morning paper. A steaming cup of black coffee smoked on the coffee table in front of him.

"Good morning," a smooth voice said to him from the kitchen. It was the man he didn't recognize. He was slender with short black hair. He wore a wide smile, but the friendliness in his expression didn't meet his empty eyes. It was a little creepy.

"Uh… hey." Naruto looked between the man and Sasuke. Sasuke hadn't even bothered to look up at him. It was awkward and it made him squirm.

"I'm glad to see you found your clothes okay. Would you like something to eat before you take off?" The man cocked his head to the side; again with that creepy smile.

"Uh…" Naruto didn't know what to say. Sasuke still hadn't moved from his position, simply flipping to the next page in the paper as if he wasn't there. Naruto's eyes narrowed, glaring daggers at the back of his head. _Fucking asshole_. He huffed. He knew he shouldn't have expected anything. Hell, he didn't even know what he _was_ expecting. "No thanks," he'd completely lost his appetite. "I'll just leave."

"Very well," the man sat the spatula aside and all but ushered Naruto to the door. Naruto's eyes never left the back of Sasuke's head. He could at least say something. Anything. What type of prick fucks a guy and doesn't even at least look at him? Naruto looked away to slip on his shoes. Anger was boiling up inside of him. This was a stupid idea. He knew he'd regret it.

"Asshole," he grumbled, loud enough that he knew Sasuke would be able to hear. The strange man in the suit didn't seem bothered by his language or foul mood and simply opened the door for him.

"Travel safe."

"Fuck off," Naruto snapped, and just like that he was gone. The apartment door was shut behind him. He turned and stared at it. If his ass didn't hurt so badly he may not have believed what had happened the night before. In a sudden lapse of judgment, Naruto sent a hard kick to the door and shouted, "Prick!" Before stalking off.

It wasn't that he was expecting anything more than a one-night fling from the guy. But, he didn't have to treat him like he was some piece of trash for his weirdo, creepy servants to take care of.

He hated how awkward he felt leaving the expensive apartment building and how there were a lot more people at this time of day mulling around who stared at him as he left.


	3. Stupid Pudding

After leaving Sasuke's place Naruto decided to forgo public transportation. The business district wasn't too far from his campus, so he pulled out his cigarettes and walked the thirty minutes it took for him to get to his apartment. Seven cigarettes later he'd made it to the slightly run-down building. When he reached the fourth floor and turned the corner that lead to his apartment he nearly turned back and made a run for it.

Sakura was sitting with her back to his door. When she sensed his presence she turned to him with angry, red eyes. He could swear he saw smoke blow from her little nostrils. "Naruto," she seethed and stood up. Naruto gave her his best grin as he moved towards his apartment. She waited for him to unlock the door and let them both in. She carefully took off her shoes, contemplating for a moment if she should use them as weapons.

Once they were inside and the door was closed she let loose, "You fuckwit! Where the hell were you? Do you have any, and I mean _**any**_ idea how fucking WORRIED I was?"

"I'm sorry!" He pleaded and kicked off his shoes before cautiously approaching his fuming friend. He placed his hands on her shoulders and rubbed up and down to soothe her temper. "I'm really sorry. My phone died and I had a… really long night." He felt his temper flair a bit at the thought of that bastard, Sasuke.

Sakura's eyes softened at his tired expression. She sighed and walked over to the couch to collapse. She'd spent so many hours thinking her best friend was dead that now she was completely worn out. Sure, sometimes Naruto wouldn't answer his pone or a text, but his phone sent read receipts so she always knew that, at the very least, he was alive. Plus his phone rarely ever went straight to voicemail. When she'd called his dad and heard he wasn't there she panicked and thought the worst. She'd been sitting outside his apartment for the past four hours in the fetal position.

"Urgh!" She laid back and covered her face with both hands. "I swear you're going to be the death of me one day," she grumbled and Naruto smiled down at her. He walked around the couch and lifted her feet, sat down in the empty spot then placed her feet in his lap. She let her hands fall to her chest and glared up at Naruto. "Well, what happened?"

"What?" Naruto's cheeks grew warm. He looked away, "Oh."

"Oh? Oh what?" Sakura sat up. She tried to contain the grin that was tugging at the corners of her lips. Naruto's shy expression told her that there was something juicy he had to spill.

"It's nothing."

"Bullshit!" She called it, pushing him lightly. "Spill it. I think I deserve that much after you nearly gave me a damn ulcer waiting for you."

Naruto smiled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Eh, well… I met this guy…"

"You met a guy?" Sakura's eyes grew wide. She grinned and did a cute little dance. "Oh, what's he like?" She asked as if she was in grade school asking her friend about the boy with the cute cooties.

Naruto frowned, his eyes narrowing as he thought over the past hour. "It's not like I'll be seeing him ever again." He grumbled and Sakura immediately deflated.

"What happened?"

Naruto shrugged. "We uh… had sex. To be honest, I've never had sex like this before. I mean…fuck," he ran a hand over his face and through his hair. "But it was just a one-night thing. He made that pretty clear." He rolled his eyes and huffed.

"You had sex with some random guy?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes, and before you ask doctor, we did use protection." He rolled his eyes and Sakura smiled.

"Oh, shut up! You don't know what I was gonna say." She pouted at him and Naruto quickly kissed her lips, making her cover her mouth. She gasped "You dick!" Naruto grinned and got up from the couch before Sakura's swinging hand could make dangerous contact. He danced around, taunting her and making obnoxious noises. "You brat!" She squawked, jumping from the couch and chasing after him.

They laughed, jumped over things and grabbed at each other. The talk about the one night stand was thrown aside for some juvenile horseplay. Sasuke wasn't worth being irritated over. Naruto knew that thinking a quick sexual encounter like that could possibly lead to anything was unrealistic. But, if Sasuke was going to disregard what happened, then so would he. All he had to do was forget the whole thing ever happened.

Naruto jumped out the way of another hand swinging towards him. He pivoted, and turned back towards Sakura, wrapping his arms around her waist to subdue her. "Okay, okay," he said between laughs. "I'm sorry." He rubbed his head against hers the way a cat would to their owner's leg. Sakura was still playfully pouting when Naruto lifted her up and carried her over to the couch.

"You're such a weirdo," Sakura grumbled, wiggling out of his grip just as he was about to set her down. She huffed and straightened her clothes as if none of that had just happened. Naruto chuckled and plopped back down. He grabbed the remote off of the coffee table and switched on the TV.

Sakura left the couch and walked over to the kitchen to pilfer through his fridge. She wasn't surprised when the only things present were a half-eaten container of peanut butter, expired milk, an array of condiments and beer. No real food. Naruto had been practically living with his father for the past few months, so she wasn't surprised.

Sakura sighed, slouching against the nearly empty fridge before she closed it. She'd spent all that time worrying and waiting for Naruto to return that she hadn't even thought of eating until now. She opened up a drawer where she knew Naruto kept all of his take-out menus and pulled out one for a ramen shop, Ichiraku.

"Want some take-out Ramen?" Sakura called from the kitchen. Naruto leaned back on the couch until his head was nearly upside down facing her.

He grinned, "Yes please." As if on cue, he felt a painful rumble churn through his stomach. It was like his insides were rearranging themselves in preparation for the salty noodles.

Naruto sat back normally on the couch and began flipping through channels as he heard Sakura giving out their orders over the phone. He flipped past a few channels before he landed on the news. They were rehashing a story from last week on some hotshot business owner returning to Japan. Something about the black car that pulled in front of the camera made Naruto's skin prickle.

"What's up?" Sakura asked as she sat back down on the couch. She must have finished placing their orders. Naruto shushed her, unusually interested in whatever celebrity news dribble was on today's headline.

"Holy shit," Naruto spoke softly. That creepy, smiley weird guy from earlier in Sasuke's place was on camera. He'd just gotten out of the driver's side. Naruto stood up and took a step closer to the screen. "It can't be him."

"Who?" Sakura asked, looking between the TV and her friend.

A tall woman with long red hair and glasses got out the car next. He could tell she was tall because that creepy guy was taller than him and she only looked an inch or two shorter. She was holding a small child with short black hair in her arms, maybe three or four years old. They were both wearing expensive dresses. The girl in her arms was playing with a Madame Alexander doll that had the same short black hair as her. The next person who got out of the car had Naruto collapsing back onto the couch.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." He ran a hand through his hair. There he was, that fucking asshole.

"Naruto?" Sakura gave Naruto her concerned eyes. He was being weird, much weirder than the average Naruto weird. "What's the matter?"

"That's him." He said, pointing listlessly at the screen. Sakura looked back at the program. The recording of the family leaving the car stopped and turned into a small box at the corner of the screen.

The fluff reporter started rambling away, "Our Japanese Ambassador to the United States, Fugaku Uchiha, passed away last week. His youngest son, owner of Mangekyou Energy, has returned with his family after years overseas and will be continuing operations here in Tokyo! Now that the…" she continued.

"Wait…" Sakura side eyed the TV, then Naruto. "That's _him_? As in, why you didn't answer my calls, him?" Naruto nodded. Sakura made an "O" shape with her mouth.

"No fucking way..."

"I know..."

"He's married! He has a kid!"

"I know..."

"He's like, super rich too! He's famous."

"I know..."

Sakura tilted her head as she examined the man in the freeze-framed image. "He is hot though..."

Naruto squeezed his eyes closed and groaned. "I know..." He slumped into the couch and covered his face with his hands. This was too much. Sakura offered him a soothing hand and gently patted his shoulder.

A large part of him felt disgusted, but another part of him knew that if he had known any of this, there was no way he'd sleep with a married man. A married man with a _child_ , that is. After all that happened to him between Neji and Kiba, the last thing he wanted to do was be some home wrecker. And the nerve of that bastard for doing that sort of thing behind his family's back. It made him so angry.

"Well," Naruto spoke, clearing his throat as he flipped past the channel. "Now I know he's a bigger dick than I thought he was."

* * *

Sakura left that night around midnight. Her boyfriend, Lee, drove over and picked her up. He'd told Naruto he was glad to see him looking better. Naruto smiled and waved the two off before returning to his apartment. He spent the rest of the night doing homework until around 3am when he fell asleep.

Sunday morning he woke up around 11am. He felt a bit better than yesterday, though he'd be lying if he said his ass was feeling completely normal. Plus, he was still feeling pissed off at the new information he'd learned about that bastard, Sasuke. What was more irritating was that he couldn't stop thinking about him. Or how it felt to be with him… The way he kissed him and touched him. Just imaging it set his skin on fire.

Today was supposed to be the "double-date" with Sakura, Lee, and Hinata. It made him nervous to think about it, but was glad because it served as a distraction from those more unsavory thoughts that plagued his mind regarding a certain someone.

Sakura sent him a text telling him to meet her at the movie theater over in Akihabara at 1pm. He relayed the time over to Hinata then fell back on his bed, curling into himself and hugging a pillow over his face.

At 12:30 Naruto crawled out of bed to his bathroom to get ready. He was fifteen minutes late by the time he'd gotten to the movie theater. Sakura, Lee and Hinata were waiting outside of the ticket stand for him.

"You're late," Sakura pointed out.

Naruto scratched the back of his unruly hair and chuckled, "My bad." He turned his attention to Lee and smiled. After that his eyes landed on Hinata and he suddenly felt awkward. Hinata was a beautiful girl, short with silky long hair. She looked like she could've been a goddess in another life, but in this reality she was just an awkward girl with those same eyes he'd tried his damnedest to forget over the past twelve months.

"Naruto!" Lee's boisterous voice broke the tension. "It's been quite a while since we've had the chance to hang out. What a glorious day this will be!" he walked over and threw a heavy arm over Naruto's shoulder.

"Yeah," Naruto winced at the tight grip. "Sure has. Good to see you, man." He let out a small sigh of relief when Lee released his grip. Naruto once again turned to face Hinata and managed a genuine smile. "Hey Hinata."

Hinata smiled softly, the nervous look on her face seemed to melt away from the warmth of Naruto's greeting. She stepped up, the heels of her sandals tapping sweetly against the concrete as she approached him, and gently wrapped her arms around his waist. "Hello Naruto. I've missed you." Naruto leaned into the embraces, enjoying the sound of her small voice as she held him.

They broke apart and Naruto left her with a light peck on her forehead as he used to do when they were in elementary school and would claim her as his pretend girlfriend.

"Okay!" Sakura cut in as if she'd been holding her breath. "Shall we? We've already missed the previews by now."

"Oh no, not the previews!" Naruto mock whined. Sakura rolled her eyes and playfully smacked his arm.

"Hey! You know they're the best part."

"It's not like you can't just watch them on YouTube later."

"It's so much better on the big screen though!"

Lee and Hinata watched the two bicker from behind and smiled at each other. At the food stand Naruto and Sakura continued to go back and forth until the cashier appeared.

Sakura turned and gave the teenager a big smile, "Two large popcorns please." When the worker began ringing up their order, Lee reached for his wallet to pay, but Naruto held his hand out and shook his head.

"I got it," Naruto said and grinned. He reached into his back pocket, only to find a half empty pack of cigarettes. He patted around his other pockets with squinted eyes. When it became clear that he didn't have his wallet, he straightened and scratched the back of his head with a goofy smile. "Uh, or not."

Sakura shook her head, "You forgot your wallet?" Lee handed the cashier his debit card.

"I guess so…" he rarely left stuff like that behind so it was hard to imagine. He probably just forgot to pick it up on the way out. It would be on his nightstand when he got home, he was sure.

* * *

It wasn't on his nightstand. And after 2 hours of scrounging through his apartment, he was convinced that it wasn't there at all.

Exhausted from his search, Naruto plopped onto his couch and let his head fall back. He stared up at the ceiling. Losing his ID, a couple credit cards and a little cash wasn't the end of the world. But that wallet was the one his mother had bought him for his twentieth birthday. The wallet she couldn't even personally give him, but that his father had given him several days after the funeral as an afterthought. It irritated him that he could be so careless.

He'd checked everywhere for it. He knew that, unless he'd dropped it on the street, then the only other place it could be was…

"Ugh," he groaned and covered his tired eyes with both hands. The last thing he wanted to do was crawl back to that bastard after the way he was treated. But, he did feel bad for losing his wallet. He could almost see his mother standing over him with her hands on her hips.

He let his hands fall, crossed his arms and pouted. Maybe he could stop by and ask him about it. He did know where he worked.

He thought about that for a moment.

"Hell no." He answered and shook his head at the thought. Sasuke humiliated him, treated him like garbage he'd forgotten to take out.

Naruto was glaring at his wall above his TV now, imagining Sasuke's smug face.

If that bastard had his wallet, wouldn't he have brought it to him by now? Or, at the very least, had his _servant_ do it. He refused to believe that some part of him actually wanted to see that prick. Or that thinking about it, amidst the anger, there was a little bit of excitement bubbling up in his chest at the thought of coming face to face with that arrogant, cheating bastard. Because if he were to admit something like that, then he'd be convinced that he was sick and perhaps needed to be committed as soon as possible.

And even if he did, theoretically, see him again, it would only be to tell him off for being an insensitive prick.

But he wouldn't see him. Point was, he probably didn't have his wallet anyway so there _was_ no point.

He'd promised himself he'd forget about him, so he would.

* * *

A week passed and Naruto was back to doing what he did best: working odd hours, class, sleep, and repeat. Yet, still no sign of his wallet. It was just a chunk of leather. It wasn't as if being so attached to such a thing would bring her back.

Beside that, things did feel like they were turning up for Naruto. Since the outing at the movies, Naruto'd been spending less time at his father's home, and more time in his apartment. Sakura came over more often, and sometimes Ino or Shikamaru and Chouji, or even occasionally Hinata. It was refreshing. It felt like his life was becoming normal again. And, to top it off, he had only thought about Sasuke thirty seven times, and only during ten of those times did he get hard.

The only thing that had him on edge was his birthday. It was coming up in a few days and he knew he'd have to visit his mother's grave with his dad. It seemed like every time he thought about his mom he'd fall apart. Thinking about his mother down there in that coffin just made him want to throw up. And the longer he thought about that upcoming day where he'd have to look down at her grave, the worse he felt about losing his wallet. After thinking about it over the week, he decided he'd have to try to get it back, he just didn't like what he'd have to do to get it.

2am on Friday, he'd gotten into work a little over an hour ago and was mixing drinks behind the busy bar.

"Yo! Naruto," Ino, a bubbly, longhaired blond, waved with a large smile while dragging an unamused looking Shikamaru behind her. Naruto was wiping out the inside of a glass when he spotted them approaching and waved back.

The couple crammed their way past the other patrons until they were somewhat settled at the bar.

"Hey guys," Naruto leaned over and gave his fellow blond a light kiss on the cheek, then leaned back and offered Shikamaru a friendly nod. "What's up?"

Shikamaru shrugged, looking like he didn't want to be there. It wasn't a farfetched idea that Ino dragged him out beyond his will. "Ask her?" Shikamaru spoke, sounding irritated, "Can I get a beer?" Naruto looked to Ino for a second who was grinning innocently before turning his back to the pair. He bent down and grabbed a bottled Heineken from the mini fridge and popped the cap off with ease.

He turned back to his friends. "We only have bottles tonight, no more drafts," he said as he handed Shikamaru the open bottle. Shikamaru shrugged and gulped down a bit of the offered beer. Naruto looked back at Ino and opened his mouth to speak when a new customer caught his eye. He held one finger up to signal for her to wait, then went to take their order.

2 mojitos later he was back and putting away the dirty glasses that were left at the bar along with a few crumpled bills.

"So?" Naruto started and couldn't help but smile along with Ino, even though he still wasn't sure why she was so strangely giddy. Either she was really excited about something or she was already half drunk.

"Naruto," She dragged out his name sweetly and leaned further over the bar. "Your birthday's in a few days," Naruto's smile faded, even as Ino's grew. "We wanted to wait," she continued, "But you wouldn't have time to prepare if we did. So…" Ino reached into her purse and pulled out two tickets. "Happy Early Birthday! This is from everyone."

Naruto looked down at the tickets, then up at Shikamaru, who was looking uncomfortable, before looking back at Ino. He slowly took them from her hands and held them closer to his face. He read them, then looked back up at Ino. "Tickets to Kyushu?"

The words seemed to trigger something in Ino that made her jump and giggle. "Yes! You know that onsen that's like, totally famous or whatever, we're going! Isn't that great? You totally need a relaxing vacation to take your mind off of things."

Naruto tried to smile. He looked over at Shikamaru who was strategically avoiding eye contact.

"What about my job? I can't just leave for…" he checked the ticket's return date. "Four days."

"Oh no, it's okay! We've been planning this for a while. We spoke to your manager about it and everything." Ino's enthusiastic smile was faltering now. Naruto wasn't looking the least bit excited.

"Here we go." Shikamaru muttered, and only Ino seemed to hear him. She nudged him hard with her elbow while focusing her concerned eyes on Naruto. Shikamaru grumbled and rubbed his side, but didn't comment further.

"Naruto come on, it's your twenty-first birthday. We wanted to do something fun." Naruto looked away, but Ino did her best to keep some form of eye contact. "Don't you want to go?"

"Look, I'm sorry you spent so much money on it," Naruto said and held the tickets back out to her. Ino suddenly looked like she'd been smacked.

"Naruto," she pleaded, not making a move to accept them. He shook his head.

"I'm sorry Ino," when he realized she wasn't going to take them back he sat them down on the bar. A man at the bar whom he'd previously served a shot of tequila was raising his hand for another drink. Naruto offered an apologetic smile before turning and tending to the needy man.

Ino bit her lip as she watched her friend. Shikamaru grabbed her hand and nodded towards the exit, signaling to her that it was time to go. One thing Naruto was and would never stop being is hard headed. If he made up his mind about not going, they weren't going to change that.

Once they were gone, Naruto went back to their spot to clean up after Shikamaru's half drunken beer and noticed that the plane tickets he'd given back to Ino were still there. He was tempted to throw them away, but felt that wasn't the right thing to do. He'd try to give them back again in the morning and hopefully sound less like an ungrateful prick. He sighed when he looked at them and slipped them into his breast pocket.

They didn't get it.

He didn't care about his birthday. It only reminded him of what he was missing. If he was being honest with himself, he just wanted to be alone. Why couldn't they have just given him an Ichiraku gift certificate and called it a day? Going to Kyushu, staying at some fancy Onsen, he knew he wouldn't be able to enjoy himself.

Naruto shook his head and whispered, "I'm an asshole."

* * *

After Naruto's shift the sun was in the middle of its rise. He walked out of the alley with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He had been mentally preparing for this since the beginning of his shift. All he had to do was go in there, figure out where the bastard's office was, and ask about his wallet. Easy. Super easy, actually.

He sighed and scratched the back of his head. After a few more puffs of his cigarette he tossed it and set off towards his favorite coffee shop, located in the building where they first met.

* * *

Walking into the office building for what was probably the hundredth time, for the first time, felt a little odd for Naruto. Maybe it was because he wasn't just going to the small coffee shop to chat with TenTen and get his caffeine fix. It could also be because he was walking in the same direction as a bunch of stuffy men and women in designer suits and dresses and here he was dressed in his alcohol stained jeans and Club Locust T-shirt. Or maybe because he knew that he smelled like sweat and cigarettes and the people around him didn't hide the fact that they could smell it too. Between the side-eyed looks and the stifling, hard-to-breathe air, there were a number of reasons for him to turn around and say "To hell with the wallet!"

As he made his way through the building, he repeatedly asked himself: Why was he even doing this? He mulled over that question as he approached the elevators he remembered Sasuke getting on. He couldn't stop his fidgeting as more workers stood around him. He peeked over to a sign by the elevator doors that listed out a number of companies. The floors jumped from one to ten, then all the way up to thirty. He scanned through them until he reached the company listed as the top floor: "Mangekyou Energy". It was the company that news reporter was blabbing about on the story about Sasuke's family. Naruto grit his teeth when the thought settled in.

 _Family._

How could he be so careless?

The elevator doors opened. It took him out of his thoughts and back into reality. Staring inside the elevator he hesitated, letting some people push past him to get inside. He wondered if this was strange; if he should even be here. He also wondered why he cared so much. What reason did he have to be so nervous?

When the last person waiting went in, he followed after them. The button for the thirtieth floor was already pressed and lit up, so he straightened and waited patiently as they started moving up.

Again, Naruto could feel the heat of the other occupants staring at him, likely wondering if he was lost. He cleared his throat and let his eyes roam upwards, avoiding any possible eye contact.

After the first few stops, there were only two other people riding up with him. The next stop was the top floor. Upon seeing this, he quickly ran his fingers through his messy blond hair and checked his reflection in the shiny doors of the elevator. When he realized what he was doing he quickly put his hand down to his side and looked away. Who the hell did he have to impress anyway? Even so, he felt his cheeks getting warm at the thought. He didn't bother thinking about why.

On top floor, the doors opened revealing a very sleek looking office space. However, a security desk and glass doors that required a key card to enter guarded the section where he assumed people worked.

Naruto stepped out along with the remaining two people. They zoomed past him and he watched them scan themselves through the glass doors. Distracted by their movement, he hadn't realized the security guard was staring right at him.

"Excuse me," a deep voice cut across the room, a sudden noise that made Naruto jump.

Naruto turned to the security guard and walked over to the desk to get a better look at him. He was a burly looking man with bright strawberry-orange hair. He was glaring at him, obviously thinking that Naruto didn't belong. His nametag read: Juugo.

Naruto stopped in front of the desk and cleared his throat. "I'm here to see Sasuke," he said with an amount of confidence that he wished he felt.

The security guard, Juugo, looked even more irritated by the statement. "Sasuke?" Juugo grunted out the name as if it was something unheard of. "Do you mean Uchiha-sama?"

Without thinking, Naruto rolled his eyes and it lit a fire in Juugo's eyes that made Naruto change his tune. He shook his head and grinned, "Oh yeah, Uchiha-sama. That's right."

Juugo continued to glare, looking more skeptical with each second that passed.

After an uncomfortable moment of silence, Juugo looked away and said, "Uchiha-sama is not expecting you. You'll have to leave."

Naruto's mouth fell open. "What? I didn't even give you my name."

"I don't need it." Juugo looked away and busied himself with some puzzle he'd been working on before Naruto showed up. Naruto grit his teeth at the man who was now obviously ignoring him.

Fed up, he all but growled at him, "Hey asshole, I said I need to see Sasuke Uchiha."

Juugo glared up at Naruto again, "And I said he isn't available, so beat it."

"Fuck that. I need to ask him something."

Juugo smirked and nodded his head in a smug show of interest, "Oh I'm sure."

Naruto glared, "Are you seriously mocking me?"

"Look, punk." Juugo stood up then, and Naruto realized for the first time just how tall this man was. He towered over him by at least a foot. Naruto felt some of his spunk drain from him, but refused to show any real sign of weakness. "People like you come in here all the time with the same story. This is a business not a museum. If you're done, you can show yourself out...or," he crossed two muscular arms over his chest. "I can show you out myself."

Naruto glared up at the man, irritated that the man's attempt to intimidate him was actually working.

Shit.

He might as well give it up. This Juugo guy was clearly unwilling to budge. Regardless of what it meant to have it, It was just a wallet anyway. "Whatever," Naruto breathed out as he turned to leave. Just then, the elevator doors opened.

"I told that dumbass not to send that email too! And now we've got to send over the analytics by tomorrow and they aren't even halfway done. That fucking moron!" A young looking man with silver hair was ranting to Sasuke as they walked through.

When they got close enough to the security desk Sasuke stopped when he saw Naruto standing there. The silver haired man beside him didn't seem to notice. He continued on, "You won't believe what that guy said to me. I swear I should've fired him right there…" finally, the silver haired man paused when he noticed Sasuke wasn't beside him and looked back.

Naruto straightened his posture and cleared his throat.

Sasuke looked from Naruto to Juugo who immediately began stammering, "Oh! Good morning, Uchiha-sama. I apologize. I was just getting rid of…" he struggled to find the right word, " _that_." He said the word like it tasted bad on his tongue and gestured to Naruto. Sasuke's eyes followed his movement.

Naruto glared at Juugo, then at Sasuke. Then, without hesitation he marched up to Sasuke, ignoring Juugo's protests or the sound of him coming around his desk to stop him.

"Hey, I need to ask you something." Naruto said, and just as he got close Juugo's strong hand grabbed his arm.

"Watch it, kid." Juugo hissed at him.

Naruto turned to give him a piece of his mind but paused when Sasuke spoke up, "It's fine, Juugo."

"But…" Juugo went to protest, but was silenced by Sasuke's glare. He quickly let go of Naruto's arm and skulked back to his desk, glaring at Naruto the whole way.

Naruto brushed off his arm, tempted to stick his tongue out at the security guard bastard, but decided he wouldn't be as childish as he wanted to, and not because he was worried about what Sasuke would think of him. That would be ridiculous.

Sasuke looked at Naruto before saying, "Come on," then turned towards the glass doors.

Sasuke went over to the ID scanner, followed by the silver haired man who kept curiously peeking over at Naruto. He scanned them in and walked through the doors that slid open for them. Just inside a pretty woman sitting behind a desk stood up and bowed. "Good morning Uchiha-sama." She turned to the silver haired man and bowed again, "Hozuki-sama." She looked to Naruto and faltered. Unsure of what to make of him, she gave him a forced smile and slowly sat back down. She clearly thought his appearance was distasteful. Regardless of her uncomfortable expression, Naruto grinned, trying to act less out of place than he felt.

Sasuke and his companion walked ahead and when he realized they were on the move, Naruto followed behind them. The sterile office space was suffocating. As they walked by Naruto could hear people whispering about them, probably wondering about the blond nobody their _king "Uchiha-sama"_ was totting around.

As they walked through the long hallways Naruto overheard the silver haired man whisper to Sasuke, "Hey. Who the hell is this kid?"

Sasuke looked at him and smirked, "Nobody."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "Prick." He said under his breath. Sasuke looked back at him, obviously hearing him, but didn't say anything.

They got to the end of the hall and stood before a set of double doors. "Well," the silver haired man turned to them, namely Naruto, and grinned. "I should probably get to my office." Naruto glared at him. Something about the guy just pissed him off. He had the same air of entitlement and arrogance that Sasuke had.

Sasuke ignored his friend's behavior as he unlocked and opened the door to his office. "Get me that paperwork for the merger by noon," was all he said as he went in.

"Aye-aye," the silver haired man raised his hand to salute, then turned to Naruto and winked. After that he was gone, disappearing behind the door to the left. When Naruto looked back into Sasuke's office, he was already sitting down behind a large wooden desk placed in front of a curved panel of windows.

The office was enormous, which didn't surprise Naruto. There were two large sofas facing each other in front of Sasuke's desk and a coffee table in the middle that separated them. On one wall there was an expansive bookshelf with a number of English books with titles Naruto couldn't pronounce and on another there was a litter of certificates and company awards.

After letting his eyes roam around and take in his surroundings, they landed on Sasuke, whose eyes were now focused on a stack of papers. Without looking up Sasuke said, "Close the door."

Naruto did as he was told then walked over to stand in front of Sasuke's desk. He stood there for a full minute before Sasuke looked up at him.

"To what do I owe this visit?"

Naruto glared at his pompous statement, "My wallet. I think I left it at your place. It's important to me so if you have it, give it back."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, as if he was thinking that over. Then, he looked back down at his paperwork, "If it's there, I will have Sai bring it to you." He said dismissively and began crossing things out on one of the sheets. "Is that all?"

Naruto grit his teeth. What the hell was wrong with this guy? Did he think it was okay to talk and treat people this way? Did he have no sense of common decency? Naruto slammed his hand down on the thick desk and barked out, "No, that's not all!" His outburst startled Sasuke, but not enough for him to do anything but pause and look up. Naruto continued, "You're a real scumbag, you know that? I can't even believe I slept with someone like you."

"Someone like me?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He placed his elbows on the desk and laced his fingers together.

"Are you kidding me? You're an asshole, a _cheater_ and a pompous, arrogant prick!"

Sasuke scoffed and it irritated Naruto to see that he thought this was funny.

"What's so funny?"

Sasuke shook his head, his dark eyes amused while his expression remained stoic. "It's humorous that you think your little temper tantrum is justified."

"Temper tantrum?" Naruto repeated the words in a voice laced with anger and frustration. "You're so full of it. You don't even think you did anything wrong."

Sasuke leaned back in his swiveling chair and looked up, feigning confusion, "Oh? I don't recall forcing anything on you. In fact, I recall you begging and moaning and..."

"Stop!" Naruto held his hands out towards Sasuke and turned his face away. His skin was feeling hot and he knew he was getting red from Sasuke's words.

Sasuke sat up straight again, "You really are an idiot, aren't you?" It wasn't really a question.

Naruto dropped his hands and turned his glare onto Sasuke, regardless of his flushed face. Sasuke smirked at him.

"Naruto," Sasuke said slowly and Naruto couldn't help the way his body tingled from hearing his name said with that silky, deep voice. Sasuke stood up. "Tell me something," he continued, walking around the desk to where Naruto was. "Did you really just come here to get your wallet and yell at me like a moron?" Sasuke stopped and stood in front of him so close that Naruto had to back against the desk to keep them from touching. Sasuke smirked at Naruto's colorless expression. The next words came out so low that Naruto stopped breathing to hear it, "Or did you come here because you wanted to feel it again?"

They were almost touching. Sasuke was leaning over him like a lion ready to eat his prey. Naruto felt like he was going to choke from lack of circulating oxygen.

"Uchiha-sama," a radio-warped female voice cut in from the telephone speaker on the desk. Both Naruto and Sasuke turned to look at it. "I've got Yakushi-sama at Hebi International Studios on line 1." The message ended. Naruto could feel himself beginning to sweat.

Sasuke backed away, unfazed and walked back to his seat.

Naruto turned his head to see Sasuke sit down and prepare to pick up the phone, but before he did he looked up at Naruto and said, "I'll have Sai bring you your wallet if he finds it." He looked down after that, hit one of the digits on the phone and picked up the receiver. "Yes," he answered. "I'm aware. Our team is delivering that to you now…"

Naruto stood there dumbly for a moment, and then realized he needed to get out of there because he still wasn't breathing properly. Without another word he walked out of the office and closed the door. In the hallway he took a deep, deep breath.

What the hell was that?

It was like Sasuke had some sort of sick magical powers, and they were way too effective in making Naruto brain dead. Whenever Sasuke gets too close, Naruto just turns into a ball of stupid pudding. He held a hand over his heart and felt it pounding like crazy in his chest.

"Jesus." He whispered to himself.

A woman carrying a briefcase walked by, pausing for a second to stare at Naruto. He stood up straight and grinned at her. She narrowed her eyes and made a face that looked almost like a snarl then walked off. Naruto shook his head. Yeah, he needed to get out of there.


	4. Deadly Digits

A week later it was 2am on Friday and Naruto was back at work. He was mixing a drink for a lonely looking older man, definitely retired, when he heard a voice behind him.

"Pardon me," Naruto turned, expecting it to be some other partygoer looking for a cocktail to stir up the night. Instead, he spotted that strange, butler-guy with the creepy face from Sasuke's place. What was his name again?"

"Sai right?" Naruto said as he poured the mixed drink into a glass full of ice. "Not wiping Sasuke's ass, I see." He turned and smiled kindly at the older gentleman as he slid over the drink. The older man accepted it with a sultry smile and slid a twenty Naruto's way. Naruto grinned as the man turned to leave.

"No," Sai said sounding humored, "I suppose I'm not."

Naruto went over to the register to ring up the order, peeking at Sai who was quietly smiling at him as he worked. Was he just going to look at him like that?

Once Naruto finished the transaction he walked over to Sai, "I'm guessing you're here because you have my wallet?"

"Yes," was Sai's simple reply. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the small object and handed it over to Naruto. "You seemed to have misplaced this in Uchiha-sama's room."

Naruto grabbed it and held it up to his face to examine it. Naruto felt himself beginning to smile as he rubbed over the rough leather fabric with his thumb.

"Isn't it customary to thank someone when they give you something?" Naruto looked up at Sai. He didn't seem to be joking.

Naruto ignored the question and slipped the wallet into his back pocket. He reached his hand out after that and waited for Sai to accept it.

Sai looked down at the outstretched hand. He seemed to think about the gesture for a moment before he grabbed hold of it.

Naruto gave the hand a firm shake and smiled, "Well thanks Sai, this thing means a lot to me."

"Yes well," Sai nodded and smiled. For the first time it reached his eyes, and he looked a whole lot less creepy. He continued, "I should be going now." Naruto moved to turn away, but Sai's voice stopped him. "But, before I go, Uchiha-sama has asked me to give you his number."

"His number?" Naruto parroted, feeling his skin go hot at the thought of Sasuke thinking about him in that way. He physically shook the thought from his head. "Wait, no way! That jerk's got a family!"

"Uchiha-sama is well aware of his family…" Naruto paused. Sai was looking at him with genuine curiosity. He was beginning to realize that Sai's comments weren't so much condescending, as they were just strange and almost kid-like.

Naruto shook his head, "I don't want it. Tell him he can go fuck himself."

Sai smiled as if something dirty had just popped into his mind, but he didn't seem interested in sharing what it was. Instead he shrugged and pointed down at the wallet. "I took the liberty of placing it on a small slip of paper in your wallet. I just wanted to make sure you knew what it was. I suppose you can do with it as you wish." Naruto looked down at the wallet, then back up at Sai. "Well, have a pleasant night, Naruto-san."

Sai turned and left after that. Naruto was left standing behind the bar feeling flushed. Call him? For what? So he could be his mistress? His _booty-call_? No fucking way.

Naruto opened the wallet and easily found the small slip of paper decorated with neatly scribbled numbers. He figured he should get rid of it now and be done with it.

Somehow, he just ended up staring at it for a full minute before a customer pulled his attention with their needy call for drinks. Naruto closed the wallet and pocketed it, choosing to deal with the number later.

* * *

After work Naruto decided he'd head over to his dad's so he hopped on the train to Ginza.

A little over 30 minutes later he was at his old house opening the door with his spare key. It was still barely six in the morning so he didn't expect his father to be up quite yet. Once inside, he quietly toed his shoes off before making his way up the stairs to his old room.

His room looked the same as it did when he was in high school. The walls were blue and his bedding orange. There were posters of soccer teams and old Kung Fu and ninja movies plastered on all the walls. Knick-knacks and sporting gear were neatly placed in baskets or on shelves, clearly his father's doing. And on the nightstand, there was a picture of ten-year-old him and his mom when he'd won his black belt in karate. It was perfect. Standing in this room he was always able to forget about how life turned in a direction he'd never imagined it would go.

He shrugged off the jacket he wore to fend off the brisk October cold and threw it onto the floor. Next went his pants, then his socks and shirt. He was down to his boxers by the time he was ready to slip underneath the comforter on his old bed.

A second or two after getting comfortable he remembered something that all but forced him out of the bed to his crumpled pants on the floor. He reached into a heavy pocket and pulled out his wallet. Flipping it open, he was faced with that slip of paper holding those godforsaken digits. He dropped his wallet and carried the paper back with him into bed.

"I shouldn't call him." He whispered to himself. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought of that asshole every night for the past week. But who could blame him? He was the only other guy he'd slept with aside from Neji. And damn…

He closed his eyes, thinking that maybe it would help him get the images out of his head, but it only made it worse. He reached down and grabbed himself over his boxers. He was getting hard. He was imaging Sasuke's body, and how it felt to run his hands down his chest and press up against him. He turned his head to the side and bit his lip.

"Fuck," he hissed and reached over to where he barely remembered dropping his phone on the nightstand. He quickly dialed the numbers and stared at them on the screen. His thumb halted over the call button. He sat there staring at it for a moment before deleting everything and placing his phone to the side. "Stupid…"

* * *

Naruto woke up a little past three to a call from Sakura. His eyes were barely open when he held the phone up to his ear.

Sakura's voice rang through the speaker, "So I heard that you're not going." The statement nearly made him hang up and go back to sleep. It was too early for this. At least, it was too early for him.

"I'm not." He knew she was referring to the trip to the onsen. As much as he appreciated the gesture, he didn't think he had it in him to go. "I tried to give the tickets back to Ino, but she won't answer my calls or texts. She's probably still mad at me." He yawned, waiting for Sakura's reply. When she didn't immediately respond he asked, "You're not gonna yell at me are you?" He rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his free hand.

"I'm not gonna yell at you. I wish you'd change your mind though."

"Sakura," Naruto breathed out, sounding even more exhausted than he'd originally felt.

"Naruto," she mimicked.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?" Naruto sat up and rested his back against the headboard, feeling more awake now.

"Don't try to get me to change my mind. Because I won't," he knew he sounded like an asshole. A part of him wanted to just accept the gift so that he'd make his friends happy. But that part of him, the part that lived to please people, had seemed to slip from him each day over the past year. He heard Sakura sigh.

"I'm not gonna." She whined. He could imagine her pouting face. "I was just saying… That's all," she sounded defeated.

Naruto let out a heavy breath. He knew what she was doing, and she was damn good at it. "Look." He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his tired brow with his thumb and index finger. He spoke again, "I'll think about it."

"Really?" Sakura seemed to be beaming, he could tell even over the phone.

"Yes, really." Naruto laid back down and curled over in bed. He pulled his covers tight over his shoulder before he spoke, sounding tired again, "Now can I go back to sleep?"

"No."

His eyebrows rose at the seriousness of her statement, "Why not?"

"Because I'm outside waiting for you to let me in."

Naruto chuckled and shook his head, even though she couldn't see it. "I'm not at my apartment. I'm at my dad's."

"I know…"

Naruto paused.

He pulled the phone away from his face and looked at it.

* * *

Naruto opened the front door to his childhood home and was greeted by Sakura and Hinata, who were carrying bags full of snacks. He greeted them in his boxers and high school soccer T-shirt.

He scratched his belly before he spoke in a yawn muffled voice, "G'mornin'." He reached over and grabbed the grocery bags, then stepped aside to let them in. "What're you guys doing out here? Don't you have class or somethin'?"

"I'm out of class at two today," Sakura began, speaking for the both of them. "And I just found out that Hinata's free on Fridays so I invited her to tag along since her apartment is so close to here." Hinata nodded and smiled cutely. Naruto led them to the kitchen where he sat the bags down on the table. He began sifting through.

"Ooooh, you brought me some ramen!" He retrieved an instant noodle cup from the bag and cradled it. "Sweet ramen," he cooed. Sakura gave him a disgusted look while Hinata let out a gentle laugh. Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sakura's expression. "You're just jealous."

Sakura scoffed, "Of what? The noodles or the Idiot?" She snatched the ramen out of his hands and placed it back in the bag. Naruto gasped at the feeling of the salty treat being ripped away.

"So mean," he sighed playfully. Sakura ignored him and carried the bag over to the stove. She pulled out a pot and began the process of boiling water.

"I heard that you're not going to join us at the onsen, Naruto," Hinata spoke for the first time. Naruto's goofy expression left him and he was left feeling anxious again.

He gave her an awkward smile, "Yeah, I said I'd think about it." He shrugged and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I hope you decide to go. My family has already rented the rooms to accommodate seven people. It would be a shame if you didn't join."

"Everyone's going, huh?" He sat down at the table and Hinata did the same. Sakura busied herself with preparing the noodles.

"Mh-hm," Hinata nodded happily. "I'm very excited. But, it will not be the same without you," again she gave him a soft, gentle smile. After that the room fell silent. The only thing to be heard was the sizzling water on the stove. While Hinata was fiddling with the hem of her shirt, Naruto wasn't sure what to say.

Thankfully, before the silence got too awkward, Sakura interjected by placing a steaming cup of noodles in front of him. He accepted with a smile and immediately dug into the hot dish.

"So, Hinata!" Sakura spoke up enthusiastically, "Did you hear that Naruto's sleeping with a celebrity?"

Naruto nearly spat out all of the noodles from his mouth. Instead, he choked them down before he ended up making a mess and glared at Sakura who was walking around to claim an empty seat at the table.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto sputtered.

"A celebrity?" Hinata said curiously and looked to Sakura who nodded with a wide grin.

"He's not a celebrity!" Naruto argued, "He's just some rich asshole…"

"An Ambassador's son," Sakura corrected.

Naruto slapped both of his hands on his face and groaned.

"Oh, that's nice." Hinata nodded kindly at the information. "Is he sweet?"

"NO!" Naruto shot his head up and immediately responded. "He's a total dick. And, for the record, we slept together ONCE." He calmed down from his outburst and looked away. For some reason he was feeling embarrassed. "Besides, I found out that he has a family. I don't think I'll see him again."

Hinata looked sad for him, and sat a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Naruto. Maybe he just wasn't the one."

Naruto chuckled, and looked over to return her sweet look with a nod and halfhearted smile. "Yeah," he let out another chuckle, "The one." Naruto wasn't even sure something like that existed in this world. He'd thought with all his heart that Neji was "the One", his "love at first sight". Was it possible to be so in love with someone that you didn't want anyone else? Was it possible that there would never be a "two" or "three" to your "one"? Naruto couldn't say he believed in that anymore.

"Hey! She's right, you know!" Sakura straightened up in her chair with her encouraging words. "You'll never see that asshole again. So what? At least you had a good time, right? Besides, there are so many guys who'd love to sleep with you… with strings attached."

Naruto laughed and shook his head. "I don't think I'm looking for 'strings'. Besides, he uh…" Naruto stopped himself.

"He what?" Sakura inquired, leaning forward over the table.

Naruto realized he'd forgotten about his noodles and shoved a few in his mouth while he debated on whether or not he should tell them.

"Well?" Sakura pushed again just as Naruto swallowed the heavy bite. Naruto sighed and slumped back in his chair.

"Well… He sort of had his assistant/servant/butler/whatever-guy give me his number."

"HE WANTS YOU TO CALL HIM AGAIN?" Sakura stood up, nearly knocking the table over.

Naruto held his hands up in his defense. "Hey, I didn't call him yet."

"Yet?!"

"No! I…" Naruto looked away.

"Naruto, don't tell me you're thinking about calling this guy."

"I'm not!"

Sakura settled back down in her seat. "Good."

Naruto ate a few more bites of his noodles as the room fell silent. He grumbled after his third bite, "Weren't you all _gung-ho_ for him, like, two minutes ago?"

Sakura shook her head, "I was only kidding. No way would I be okay with you sleeping around with a married man."

Hinata nodded as she thought about this mysterious man. Again there was a lingering silence settling in before she spoke, "Yes but…" Both Sakura and Naruto turned to her. She seemed to become nervous as all eyes landed on her, but she didn't back down. "Well, Naruto, I think that if you want to call him and he makes you happy, then you should."

Both of their mouths hung open at the words.

She continued, "I hate what Neji did to you. I think we all do." She nodded at her own musing, "But, as much as it stunk, I know that he wouldn't have done that to you if Kiba didn't truly make him happy."

After hearing that Naruto looked away. He'd suddenly lost his appetite.

"I'm sorry for saying that." Hinata looked down, dejected. "I shouldn't have said anything."

Naruto quickly looked back at her and smiled, it was his turn to be the reassuring one. "No! Don't apologize. It's okay. Really…" He leaned back in his seat. "I'm glad you said that. And, you're right. But… Hell, I don't even know this guy. And, either way, he's seriously an asshole. I don't plan on seeing him again."

Hinata lifted her head and smiled. "Well, whatever you decide to do, I'm sure you'll make the right decision."

Naruto smiled, "Thanks."

* * *

After having his lunch with the girls, Hinata drove them into the city so that Naruto could get there in time for his evening class.

He waved goodbye to the two through the car window as they drove off. After watching the car disappear around the corner he turned towards the school building and made his way inside.

As he went through the double doors a figure stepped in front of him, halting his path.

The first thing that hit him was the smell of a particular, expensive cologne. Naruto's heart was ramming in his chest the moment his eyes met the familiar face.

"Naruto…" Neji spoke.

And incredible amount of anxiety bubbled at the pit of Naruto's stomach. He felt like the air was becoming dense and it made it difficult to breathe.

"Hey," Neji tried again, this time snapping Naruto out of his temporary trance.

Naruto glared and all but growled out, "Hey yourself."

"Look, Naruto…" Neji persisted.

"Don't." Naruto pushed past him and began walking towards the center of the building where the elevators were. He quickly realized that Neji was following him and he could feel his nerves getting the best of him.

"Naruto, I'd really like to speak with you." He heard Neji say and it took everything within him not to turn around and slug him right across that perfect face. Once he made it to the elevators, he moved to press the "up" button when a pale hand covered it before he had the chance.

Naruto breathed out an unsteady breath before he turned and glared hell and fire at his ex.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Neji smiled humorlessly, "I'm trying to get your attention. Clearly, it has worked."

"Clearly, you're out of your fucking mind." Naruto could feel his temperature rising. His skin was beginning to turn red. Neji had maybe one full minute before Naruto's patience broke along with Neji's perfectly angled nose.

"I may be," Something in Neji's head made him smile at the thought. The sight only made Naruto want to vomit. Neji continued after his brief moment of thought, "Naruto, I haven't been able to speak with you in a year." Though they'd passed each other on occasion and have even made eye contact from time to time. Even so, they hadn't spoken a word to each other since their breakup. They'd never even formally broken up. The sight of Neji on top of Kiba on their couch was breakup enough for him.

"So what?" Naruto looked away, feeling flushed and frustrated.

"I wanted to apologize to you. I never got to." The words triggered another rush of anger in Naruto, and he realized that Neji was standing a little too close so he took a step back as to not be swept away. It was also then that he realized that there were other students watching them, trying to seem inconspicuous when they were just plain nosy. Naruto sneered and turned his back to Neji.

Finally Neji moved his hand and he was free to press the "up" button whenever. For some reason, he didn't immediately go for it. He felt compelled to listen.

Neji spoke again, his voice sounding soft and comforting, "Naruto, I'm very sorry about what I did." Naruto hung his head at the words. They hurt. His chest was feeling heavy. It made him want to cry, but dammit, he'd cried too fucking much over this. "I wasn't sure how long I'd have to tell you this." Naruto looked back at Neji. What did he mean by that? Not sure how long?

When Naruto's eyes met his they widened at the emptiness in them. Neji looked so terribly sad and dejected. It was a look that rarely overcame Neji. Naruto had only ever seen it those few times he'd spent the holidays with Neji and his family.

Those times when Hinata's father, Neji's guardian, would talk down to him as if he was some sort of house pet. In the past, that same look would have had Naruto running into his arms and kissing his cheeks. He remembered the times where he wanted Neji to rely only on him, and his strength.

At this moment, Naruto's anger seemed to be washing away and the familiar need to console Neji became an overwhelming feeling.

But then, as the next words came from Neji's mouth, everything that Naruto hated, everything that tortured him became so real. "We miss you." We. That word: "We". Naruto knew he was referring to _him_. It made him sick to think about it.

Naruto's eyes became cold and distant. He turned his head away without another word and pressed the button on the elevator. A second later it dinged and the doors slid open for him to enter along with the rest of the nosy crowd. Neji looked confused, as if he didn't understand Naruto's change in demeanor.

Of course he didn't. In Neji's world, he fucked up, but maybe he thought it was in some way rectifiable. To Naruto, he wanted to be cleansed of both him and Kiba. He wished so badly for the chance to make it all go away. What if he hadn't met Neji? Would Kiba still be his best friend? Would he be happy? Would his mom be alive?

A warm tear threw him from his thoughts. Naruto quickly wiped it away before more threatened to fall.

He needed to get away. Maybe his friends were right. Maybe a vacation was just what he needed. And also, the weight of his wallet was heavy at that moment.

* * *

After class, Naruto took a long nap before his shift at Club Locust. He'd gotten a few texts from Sakura, but ignored them. By midnight he was standing outside the club's entrance with a cigarette in his mouth and his eyes on his phone. Kisame, the bouncer, was standing in front of the door watching him.

"You comin' in, kid?"

"Yeah, in a minute," Naruto responded, sounding distant. Kisame shrugged and turned his attention back on the growing crowd. Naruto was doing it again. He'd typed in those dammed numbers and was staring at his phone screen. His thumb was hovering over the call button and his heart would not stay still. He knew he was making a stupid decision. He also knew that this decision was likely to get him hurt in the end. But…

He pressed down on the screen and it lit up, showing its attempt to connect his call. His palms were sweating as he hesitated to place the phone up to his ear. The ringing only made it worse for his nerves. By the fourth ring he was tempted to hang up and pretend that he'd never called, but just then…

"Hello."

"…" Naruto covered his mouth. Then, in a panic, he hung up the phone.

That was definitely Sasuke's voice.

The feel of his phone vibrating shook him. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a moment to breathe, before instinctively hitting the connect button and raising his phone to answer.

"H-hello?" He knew he sounded nervous and he hated it.

"Naruto! Oh my God, Takahara-san told me what happened today!" Naruto felt suddenly deflated. That was definitely not Sasuke's voice. He tried not to think about the disappointment he felt.

"Sakura?" He asked to make sure.

"Yes! Jesus, I can't believe Neji came up to you like that. What a prick." Sakura nearly sounded as pissed as Naruto was earlier. While she still remained friends with Kiba, she was not shy about her disgust with Neji.

"Sakura slow down. Wait… who's Takahara?"

"She's not important. Just some girl who's in the residency program with me."

"But I thought you didn't go to the hospital on Fridays..."

"I got called in. I'm here now. Jesus, Naruto! Stop asking questions! What happened with Neji?"

Naruto sighed and shrugged to himself. "Nothing good." He crossed an arm over his chest, and used it to prop up his elbow as he held the phone to his ear. "He told me that _they_ missed me."

"They?" Sakura questioned, then scoffed. "Okay, ew. Barf. What the actual fuck."

"Yeah, I know." His phone buzzed against his ear. "Hold on, I think I got a message." He pulled the phone away and went into his messages.

It was from _that_ number. His heart was hammering.

He clicked on the message to open it. It read: **That was short.**

Naruto stared at it. He wanted to respond, but he didn't know what to say.

He lifted the phone back up to his ear. "Uh, Sakura. Let me call you back."

"Wait, Naruto!" He hung up before he heard anything else. He got a message from her a second later.

 **SAKURA: NARUTO!**

Another message.

 **SAKURA: You asshole!**

He ignored them and went back to the previous message. He bit his lip as he thought.

"Hey kid," Naruto jumped at the voice. He quickly put his phone away, as if a teacher was about to scold him for having it out, and turned to face Kisame. The bouncer ignored his skittish behavior and pointed to the entrance as he spoke, "You heading in or not?"

Naruto noticed that the line once formed outside the club doors had disappeared. People were inside and his manager was probably wondering why the customers upstairs weren't being served any drinks.

"Shit, see ya!" Naruto scurried through the club doors, which Kisame had graciously held open for him, and headed up the stairs, two at a time, to his bar.

"You're late, buddy," his manager said in a lazy voice. He was behind the bar handing a couple cocktails to two giggly ladies in short sequin dresses. The man's name was Kakashi. He was a tall, perverted man with silver hair and a young face for someone in his forties. At least, that's what people who've actually gotten a good look at his face say. Kakashi wore a tightly drawn mask around his mouth. Rumor was that he had missing teeth. Some people say he's so handsome that he hides his face as to not send the customers into shock. Naruto just assumed it was because the guy was a complete weirdo.

"I know! Only by like, five minutes." Naruto said as he rounded the bar and scooped the glass from Kakashi's hand, as he was about to cook up a whiskey sour for the half drunken businessman drooling at the bar. Naruto quickly took over the order as Kakashi stood back and simply watched.

"Five minutes is a long time here, Naruto. And," Kakashi leaned back as he spoke, sifting a small book out of his back pocket as he thought. "Didn't I see you standing outside the club before the doors opened?"

Naruto shrugged as he handed the businessman his drink. Next he fixed up a margarita for a skinny, American-looking man with chocolate brown skin. The man gave him a flirty smile as he accepted the drink. Naruto gave him a wink before turning his attention back towards his boss.

"I was on the phone," Naruto answered halfheartedly.

"Ooooh," Kakashi leaned forward, peering at Naruto over his book. "On the phone with who? Was it that cute pink haired girl? Or is it the blond with the big breasts?" Naruto grimaced and pushed Kakashi's book into his face, successfully getting the man to back away.

"That's none of your business, creepy old man." Naruto turned and smiled at a young man who managed to push his way through to the bar.

"Well it's my business if it interferes with my workplace." Kakashi walked by and slapped Naruto hard on the butt with his book. "Later." Naruto held up a middle finger at him before taking a few more orders.

Time went by fast, which was always great. It was already nearing four o'clock and the crowd was growing thin.

He was cleaning a glass when he turned at the sight at someone crossing his peripheral. He nearly dropped the glass when he saw who it was. Fumbling with it instead and setting it carefully on the counter, Naruto wiped his palms on his jeans as he approached Sasuke.

The aristocratic man was looking just as handsome as he did a week ago, and undoubtedly more attractive than he did in those sordid dreams Naruto hated to admit he was having. He wasn't wearing anything too professional, rather a more comfortable look that Naruto had yet to see on him: just dark jeans and a long sleeve, snug sweatshirt. Naruto wondered if something so plain costs as much as he assumed it did. It looked perfect on him, and exposed his creamy neck and collar bone, something Naruto's eyes were hungrily drawn to just before they met Sasuke's amused ones.

Before he got too caught up, Naruto looked away and found something to clean. He took out his rag and began wiping things down as he spoke with a tone of disinterest, "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Sasuke spoke, his right hand messing with the expensive watch on his left wrist. "We didn't get to finish our conversation from earlier."

"What conversation?" Naruto feigned innocence as he continued to wipe down the same spot.

Sasuke didn't respond, and a long enough moment passed that Naruto thought he might've gotten up and left.

Naruto stopped his obsessive cleaning and straightened his back with a heavy sigh. Turning slowly, he saw that Sasuke was still sitting there fiddling with the face of his watch.

Naruto threw his cloth onto the counter and approached. Once he was in front of him, he leaned against the bar with both hands and glared at Sasuke. "You shouldn't be here," for some reason Naruto was whispering. It was as if he was afraid of being caught by some secret organization. "You've got a family. You shouldn't even be talking to me."

"Is that why you called me?" Sasuke said, sounding uninterested. Naruto, on the other hand, was suddenly flustered, but wasn't going to back down.

"Yes, as a matter of a fact! I was calling to tell you to fuck off, and that you had no business giving me your number when you're married and… hell on TV for crying out loud!"

Sasuke turned his intense gaze onto Naruto and it seemed to physically push Naruto back and pull him in at the same time.

"Oh?" Sasuke spoke as he stood. He leaned, ever so slightly, over the bar with his arms crossed over his chest. Naruto was only a few inches away, but couldn't find the strength to retreat. Sasuke smelled so good, like honey and lavender. And when he spoke his next words in that low, husky tone, Naruto could swear that all of the noise around them became muddled and distant, "I was sure that you called me because you were remembering how it felt having me inside of you."

Time seemed to stop. Sasuke smirked and Naruto's eyes widened.


	5. Fight On!

Naruto woke up feeling cranky. He only ever felt this groggy after waking up if he didn't get the full eight hours of sleep his body craved. He also felt a pounding tension in his head, and it made it hard for him to want to open his eyes.

He sleepily reached around for his phone, blindly hoping that he would grab hold of it within the darkness.

In his search he grabbed onto something both soft and hard. He managed to force his eyes open and immediately hissed when the sunlight hit him.

Naruto turned over and peered at the body beside him. Still disoriented, he looked around, gathering details of the faintly recognizable room. When his eyes landed on a figure standing by the door, they opened wide and he let out a loud shriek.

"AH! What the fuck!" He sat up quickly, ignoring how his head stung as he did so.

"What are you screaming about, moron?" The body lying beside him, still mostly buried underneath the comforter, spoke. It sounded like a muffled Sasuke.

Naruto's heart was beating fast, and his breaths were coming out sharp. He rubbed his eyes with his wrist to clear up his vision, and then focused back on the figure by the door that nearly gave him a heart attack. Finally getting his head on straight, he saw that it was only Sai standing there with freshly cleaned and folded towels in his arms.

"Uh…" Naruto looked over and Sasuke was glaring up at him. The sight nearly made Naruto smile. He looked like an angry cat that'd just been disturbed from his nap. "My bad…" he grinned shyly and scratched the back of his head.

"Were you looking for your cellular device?" Sai asked pleasantly, and Naruto had to force himself not to make a comment about his choice of words.

"Uh, yeah…"

Sai sat the towels on the edge of the bed and pulled the phone from his pocket. He approached and handed it over to Naruto. "I found it on the couch."

Naruto blushed as he accepted the device, unable to remember what had happened before he'd apparently passed out on Sasuke's bed. Sai smiled and left the room after that.

God, his head really hurt. What time was it?

He tapped on his phone, but nothing happened. It was dead. He looked back over at Sasuke and saw that he'd turned his back to him. He looked to the nightstand and saw that the time was only 11:30 in the morning.

"Urgh," Naruto closed his eyes and rubbed them with the heels of his hands, hoping to shed some clarity on the past few hours. "What the hell happened?" He was speaking more to himself, but Sasuke reacted to his words and sat up, the soft comforter pulling around his naked waist. As Naruto uncovered his eyes, the sight of his bed companion nearly made him drool.

Naruto shook his head to get rid of the thoughts and immediately groaned because the movements only made his aching head feel worse. He clenched his eyes shut and covered his face with his hands.

After Sasuke showed up at the club he knew they went back to Sasuke's place and then they'd had a couple drinks and…

Naruto gasped and pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke. "You drugged me didn't you?"

Sasuke's eye twitched at the statement. "Are you stupid?"

"Well!" Naruto got up from the bed, wearing only his bright orange boxers. He placed his hands firm on his hips, as he spoke, "Why can't I remember getting in bed with you? And why am I practically naked?"

"Think, moron. We came here, you had two shots and somehow you got wasted on your own. The end." Sasuke laid back down after that, turning over so that his back faced Naruto once again.

"Yeah! Because you slipped me something!"

"No," Sasuke turned his head to glare at him. "Because apparently you have a ten-year-old's tolerance for alcohol." He turned away again and Naruto blushed at his words.

"So… we didn't?"

"No. We didn't."

Naruto sighed. He was starting to feel a bit awkward. The fact that he was practically in a stranger's bed wasn't lost on him. Even though he'd been in this room, in this bed, before, it wasn't like he and Sasuke were friends, not even close.

"Then… why am I still here?" Naruto asked, again, more to himself. Sasuke didn't respond this time, presumably asleep. Naruto let out another heavy sigh. He didn't know what to do. Where were his clothes anyway?

Naruto took this opportunity to creep out of the bed and take a leak. The room in the far corner appeared to be the right place to go. He slowly opened the door and was almost amazed by the size of the room. There was a Clawfoot tub, a separate glass door shower, a long sink with two golden faucets, plush black and gold speckled bath mats and steel colored walls. He almost lost the urge to go.

Once he'd finished he snuck back out into the bedroom. Sasuke was still turned over, quietly sleeping. He grabbed his phone along with his wallet and cigarettes, which he found on the nightstand, and went out into the hallway that led to the living room. Sai was there, folding more linen and placing them in a large closet connected to the living room. When Naruto was close Sai turned to him and smiled. Naruto only felt a little awkward standing there in his boxers. He figured this guy must have seen him naked already anyway.

"I'm sorry to have woken you, Naruto-san," Sai spoke, a look of sympathy took over his passive face. It almost felt real.

"Uh, no it's okay. I was already awake." Naruto scratched the back of his head, coming closer to where Sai stood. "Uhm, you got my clothes? I think I should leave."

Sai stared at him for a moment, then smiled. "Oh yes, I do. They're washing right now."

Naruto nodded, then looked over towards the couch. He decided he might as well wait out here, so he walked over and plopped down on the oddly comfortable leather sofa. Sai continued his work, unbothered.

As Naruto sat there, he attempted to piece things together. He still couldn't wrap his head around what was happening between him and Sasuke, or, if anything was happening at all.

He turned his head towards something that caught his attention. On the side table there were two framed pictures. He leaned across the sofa until he was close enough to snag them both in one hand. He sat straight again and separated the frames to get a good look at them. The first was a picture of a young girl with short black hair, the same one he'd seen on the news days ago. She was sitting in a field wearing a light blue sundress. She wasn't smiling, but she looked happy.

The other was a family picture. A stoic looking older man stood beside a woman showing off a radiant smile. Sitting in front of them were two boys. One was a young teenager sitting with his back straight and a firm hand on the other boy who appeared much younger, maybe five or six. He looked the happiest out of all of them, sitting there with a large smile and his hand up, likely waving at the cameraman. It made Naruto smile.

Then, a hand came from up above and snatched both pictures out of his hands. Naruto jumped and turned to face the culprit.

Sasuke was standing there, looking unfazed as he went to place the pictures back.

"Hey, I was looking at... Whoa! Can you put some clothes on?" Naruto covered his eyes with one hand and looked away. Sasuke was standing there, completely naked.

"Why? This is my home, and it's not like you haven't seen me naked." Sasuke walked away into the kitchen. Naruto slowly removed his hand, revealing a bright red face.

"That's different," Naruto grumbled.

"How?" Sasuke asked and Naruto looked up. Sasuke had left the kitchen and was standing closer, drinking a glass of orange juice. Naruto looked away again.

Once Sasuke finished his orange juice, he sat the glass down on the counter and went over to the room Sai was doing laundry in. When he came out he was wearing a loose pair of joggers and holding a large tablet.

He came around the couch and sat beside Naruto, idly scrolling through the news as if it was just another day.

Naruto looked over and stared at the picture of that little girl. "How can you do this?"

"Do what?"

"Go behind your family's back."

Sasuke stopped his scrolling, his eyes narrowing at the statement. "You don't know anything about my family." Naruto could sense the venom laced in those words.

Naruto sighed before he spoke again, "You're right." Sasuke resumed his scrolling.

Sai came out a moment later holding folded clothes in one hand. He walked around the couch and held them in front of Naruto's face.

"Thanks," Naruto spoke and accepted them. Sai nodded and smiled before going back to what he was doing. Naruto stood up and began dressing. It bothered him that, once again, Sasuke was sitting there completely ignoring him.

Once he was fully dressed in the previous night's work outfit, he pocketed his phone, wallet and cigarettes, then stood there looking down at Sasuke.

"Do you need something?" Sasuke said sounding bored.

Naruto glared down at him, "Don't call me."

Sasuke paused and tilted his head back to face Naruto. "Did I call you? I don't remember doing that." Naruto paused when he realized Sasuke was right.

Naruto shook his head. "No! I mean, delete my number."

Sasuke crossed his arms. "Do you think you have the right to tell me what to do?"

Naruto huffed. "Why are you such an asshole?"

"I'm the asshole?" Sasuke raised a brow, looking up as if he was in thought. "I suppose _I'm_ the one who invited _myself_ into _your_ place, got disturbingly trashed then passed out in _your_ bed, all the while insulting _you_ for… what was it again? Oh yes, being a 'dirty, cheating, lying bastard just like…' What was his name? Neji, right? Yes. A 'dirty, cheating, lying bastard just like that dickhead, _Neji_ '." Naruto's face flushed.

"I said that?" Naruto whispered to himself.

Sasuke gave him a pointed look then focused his attention back on his tablet.

"So to answer you," Sasuke continued. "I never saved your number and I don't plan to. You have successfully burned that bridge. Congratulations."

Naruto looked embarrassed. But, more upsettingly, he felt a bit hurt. It's true; Sasuke's married and Naruto really hated that about him. Even so, he'd be lying if he hadn't developed some sort of insane crush for the man over the days he'd spent thinking about their little fling.

Naruto looked away, shoving his hands in his pockets as he did so. He felt his chest tightening. "Well," he pouted. "Why didn't you just kick me out then?"

"Because, it was six in the morning and, as bastardly as you seem to think I am, I don't care to throw drunken idiots out on the street at odd hours."

Naruto nodded, "Okay I get it." Instead of leaving as he'd previously mentioned, to Sasuke's surprise, Naruto plopped down beside him on the couch.

Sasuke's eyebrow rose and he turned to face him as he spoke. "Weren't you leaving?"

Naruto ignored him. He didn't feel right just leaving. He also didn't necessarily owe Sasuke anything but… "I should make it up to you," Naruto decided and turned to Sasuke with a wide Cheshire grin.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "We're not having sex again. I was sure that I made that clear."

Naruto rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Jesus, is that all you think about?" Naruto realized Sasuke probably made that same assumption when Naruto first offered to "make it up to him" when he'd spilled that coffee on him. "I'm talking about lunch."

"Lunch?"

"Yeah, let me treat you." Naruto was still grinning like an idiot.

"Why?"

"Well, even though I still think you're sort of shitty for sleeping around behind your family's back, you did have the decency to let me crash here." Naruto shrugged. "Even if you are a scummy prick."

Sasuke tilted his head, his face emotionless as he spoke, "Wow…. I'm in tears."

Naruto chuckled and shook his head, before responding, "Is that a 'yes'?" He wiggled his eyebrows and shimmied his shoulders. He thought he saw something like a smile form of Sasuke's mouth, but whatever it was, it went away in a blink.

"Whatever," Sasuke got up. "Sai, bring me something to wear," Sasuke spoke as he got up and made his way back to his room.

Naruto sat there on the couch as he left. For some reason, he was still smiling.

* * *

"You really didn't need to dress so..." Naruto started to say as they headed out of the lavish building.

Sasuke looked over at him and asked, "'So' what?" Naruto turned his head to eye Sasuke's outfit. The man looked like royalty in his black Givenchy suit. Compared to Naruto, who was wearing his work clothes, Sasuke looked like some sort of prince.

As he continued to eye him, Sasuke was still waiting for him to explain himself with a quizzical look.

Naruto shook his head, thinking it was best to leave it alone, he said, "Never mind. The place is only a couple blocks from here so we can walk."

As soon as they stepped outside Naruto squinted at the sun. It reminded him that the day was just beginning. He was rarely out when the sun was directly above. He reached into his back pocket for his cigarettes and pulled out one. Sasuke watched him as he lit it and inhaled the nicotine, but didn't say anything.

Even though the walk was short, Naruto still didn't feel he knew Sasuke well enough to be comfortable in the silence, so he thought of something to say. "What's your daughter's name?" was the first thing that came to mind and he wished he'd thought about that question before asking it. Why in the hell would he ask a guy he's sleeping with about his family? Sasuke seemed to think the same thing by the way he narrowed his eyes at Naruto in response. Even though 'sleeping together' is a bit of a reach considering they'd only had one night of passion.

To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke simply answered, "Sarada."

Naruto thought about the name and nodded, "That's pretty." He felt like he had to roll with it after that. "Did you name her?"

Sasuke looked away, unsure of why they were having this sort of conversation. Even so, the questions seemed harmless, so he answered easily, "I did."

"She looks like you."

"She does."

"How often do you see her?"

"Often enough." They turned a corner and began walking across the street.

"Hm," Naruto thought to himself. He was getting distracted by his own musing, and for some reason, his mother came to mind. "She probably misses you when you're gone."

Sasuke looked at him, but didn't respond.

"It must be nice, having people like that in your life."

Sasuke stopped in the middle of the cross walk. The walk sign was still on. He turned to Naruto with his arms crossed, "I'll tell you this only because it seems to bother you so much. My wife knows that I sleep around."

Naruto was shocked to hear this, but more shocked that Sasuke had the audacity to stand in the middle of the road. "What? Wait… Can we move away from here?" Naruto tugged at Sasuke's arm, but he didn't budge.

Sasuke smirked, "Are you afraid?"

Naruto huffed. "Wow. You really are an asshole, Jesus." Naruto crossed his arms and defiantly stared up at him. Sasuke tilted his head in a cocky, challenging manor. Naruto continued, "I was just making conversation y'know? Ever heard of a thing called ' _trying to be nice_ '? And I didn't ask. Besides, like you said, we're not even doing _that_ again. Just friends, right?" Naruto leaned back and smiled cheekily.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Friends?"

A car horn blared from beside them. Naruto jumped and they both looked at the angry culprit fuming behind the wheel of his sedan. Sasuke lifted his middle finger up at him. Naruto chuckled, but grabbed Sasuke's vulgar had and pulled them both to safety before that man had half a mind to run them over.

Once again on the sidewalk Naruto laughed again. "You're actually the most arrogant person I've ever met."

Sasuke still wanted to know what exactly Naruto meant when he called them 'friends' but didn't get the chance when Naruto turned around and pointed out where they would be eating. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the bright sign that read in bold, tacky typography: ICHIRAKU RAMEN.

"Ramen?" Sasuke spat out the word as if the idea itself was taboo. Naruto looked at him and grinned.

"Yeah, I love this place."

"I'm not surprised."

Naruto frowned, "Hey! What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

Sasuke sighed, "I shouldn't have to explain." They approached the small ramen shop after that and went through the sliding doors towards the bar.

"Naruto!" A cute girl wearing a white hakama walked around the bar to greet them as soon as they entered. There was only one customer there besides them and he was busy sucking down his third bowl of noodles in one of the booths. Sasuke did his best not grimace. Even if he wanted to, he was quickly distracted when the previously mentioned girl brushed past him to give Naruto a hug. "It's been so long since you've come in. I usually only see you if I'm on the delivery shift." Naruto chuckled and she giggled in return. "Oh!" The girl jumped when she noticed Sasuke's presence and backed away into a comfortable distance. "My apologies, I didn't see you there." Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes.

"Ayame," Naruto gestured between them. "This is my friend, Sasuke." There goes that word again. "Sasuke, this is Ayame. I've known her for what?" He tilted his head as he thought of the number. "Fifteen years now?"

Ayame nodded cutely. "Yep, I was just volunteering here for my grandpa when this little fox baby first came in with his chubby cheeks." She reached over and pinched one of Naruto's whiskered cheeks for show.

Naruto chuckled but also pulled Ayame's hand from his face. "C'mon Aya, I'm not a kid anymore." Naruto pouted jokingly and she smiled at him with warm eyes.

"Yeah, I know…" She let her eyes take in Naruto's figure. Sasuke was simply staring at the exchange. Naruto seemed as oblivious as ever.

Naruto looked to Sasuke. "This place is great. I usually get the house style Ichiraku ramen."

"I'll just have tea."

Naruto's eyebrows scrunched at the statement. "You're not hungry?"

"Not exactly," Sasuke shrugged. Naruto opened his mouth and pointed.

"Oh I get it! You don't think the food will be good 'cause we're not at some five-star European restaurant."

Sasuke shrugged again, not denying the statement. Naruto glared at him, then turned back to Ayame, who seemed lost in her own thoughts.

"Let's get two house style bowls and two green teas. I want mine iced."

"Wait…" Sasuke started to say.

"Coming right up!" Ayame beamed and bounced back behind the counter to start preparing their teas.

Sasuke sighed and turned to Naruto with a weak expression. "You don't seriously expect me to eat this, do you?"

Naruto grinned, "I do."

Ayame came back with the teas. She smiled and nodded at them as she slid them over, then went back to begin drawing the noodles.

Sasuke spoke once she was out of earshot. "Doesn't she know that you like being fucked by men?" Naruto nearly spat out his tea.

Naruto turned to him with wide eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Sasuke took a calm sip of his tea, mentally noted that it wasn't terrible, and pointed towards Ichiraku's kitchen where Ayame was. "She wants to have sex with you."

Naruto's face scrunched up. "No, ew, she's like a big sister to me."

"Yeah," Sasuke scoffed. "You're an idiot."

"What? How does that make me an idiot?"

Sasuke took another sip of his tea, then rubbed his chin with his index finger and thumb. "She looked at you like you were a steak and… she hadn't eaten in days."

Naruto chuckled and shook his head. "No, I think I would know if she wanted to sleep with me. And, for the record, I'm sure she doesn't." Naruto grabbed his iced drink and sucked down a good amount. He didn't feel too confident in his conclusion about Ayame, and it made him feel a bit awkward to think that she saw him that way. But, he didn't want to lose to Sasuke.

"You didn't know before."

"Before what?" Naruto turned to look at him and Sasuke was staring back with intense eyes. Naruto blushed.

Sasuke spoke low enough for only them to hear. "You didn't know that I wanted to fuck you the moment I saw you." Naruto choked and leaned away.

"Two house style bowls!" Ayame's voice cut between the building tension. She placed the bowls in front of them, along with some chopsticks, and then bowed her head. "Enjoy." She smiled and walked off to a woman who'd just taken another seat at the bar.

Naruto still felt a bit lightheaded from Sasuke's comment, so he immediately dug into his dish. After a couple bites he peeked over at Sasuke who hadn't even broke apart his chopsticks yet. His face was still red, but he tried to act like what Sasuke said didn't affect him nearly as much as it did. He spoke to him through a mouth full of half-chewed ramen, "You're seriously not going to eat?"

Sasuke took another sip of his tea and peered over at Naruto with a look of disgust as he watched him shove another bunch of noodles into his mouth. He looked down at the steaming bowl in front of him and felt his stomach move. He let out a small sigh in defeat, put down his tea and broke open his chopsticks. Naruto stopped eating to stare at him. Sasuke looked back at Naruto. "Are you planning on monitoring?"

Naruto grinned and nodded, feeling less awkward and more amused at Sasuke's sudden discomfort.

Sasuke shook his head and looked back down at the noodles. He rolled the chopsticks into the dish and came out with the noodles spun neatly around the two sticks. Slowly, he took the noodles into his mouth, slurped them up as neatly as he could and began chewing.

"Well?" Naruto spoke.

Sasuke continued to chew as his dark eyes shifted to look at Naruto. He swallowed and answered with a shrug.

Naruto scoffed, "Wha- oh come on!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "It's not the worst thing I've ever tasted."

Naruto grinned, "You like it, don't you?"

Sasuke glared, but there was no menace behind it.

"Oh admit it already," Naruto chuckled. He didn't notice the sound of bells chiming behind him, as the door to Ichiraku was swung open.

"Shut up." Sasuke spoke and went for another bite. He also didn't notice the footsteps approaching.

"Naruto…" A voice broke the mood. Sasuke looked at Naruto first, his usually tan face had turned incredibly pale. Naruto was suddenly gripping his chopsticks tight enough for his knuckles to turn white. Both Sasuke and Naruto looked back at the same time. Two men were standing there: one with shaggy brown hair and gaudy red tattoos on his cheeks, and the other a creepy looking guy with short, spiky black hair wearing dark sunglasses.

"Kiba…" Naruto seethed.

"Hey Naruto, I just want to talk…" Kiba spoke quickly.

"What the fuck. Are you two stalking me now?" He was referring to Neji. Naruto got up from his stool, looking like he was ready to swing at him.

"Wait, what? I don't know what you're…" Kiba stammered.

"You stay away from me, and tell your _boyfriend_ to do the same," Naruto spat out the word 'boyfriend' like it was poison.

"Naruto, come on, I just want to talk." Kiba said again, trying to be as cautious as possible.

"Talk about what? What does everyone want to _talk_ about it? I've got nothing to say, Kiba."

Kiba looked put out, unable to counter that. He looked at Sasuke for the first time and Sasuke almost rolled his eyes when Kiba predictably said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there."

"Yes, I'm sure." Sasuke spoke and Naruto cooled down a bit at the sound of his voice. He remembered where he was.

"Shit," Naruto put a hand on his forehead, feeling embarrassed. He turned to Sasuke, "I'm really sorry."

"I didn't mean to interrupt." Kiba said. Naruto glared at him, but didn't respond. "I'm Kiba."

"Hn," Sasuke responded with a short nod.

"You two are…?" Kiba began.

"None of your business." Naruto interjected and Kiba retreated from the subject entirely. "I'm not even hungry anymore," Naruto grumbled.

"Look, I saw you come in here from across the street… I just… Can we please talk sometime, when you're ready?" Kiba finally managed to say. When Naruto responded to him with another glare, he took that as his cue to go. "Just think about it. Sorry again for interrupting." Kiba waved at them both and then finally left.

Naruto plopped down in his stool once they were gone. He put both hands over his face and sighed. When he moved his hands he chuckled and looked towards Sasuke who appeared unfazed.

"That was totally awkward." Naruto said through his embarrassed chuckle.

"I'm guessing that's the ex-best friend who your dirty, cheating ex-boyfriend slept with behind your back?" Sasuke said easily as he finished off his tea.

Naruto's eyes widened. "What? How do you know that? I didn't…"

"You did."

Naruto groaned.

After that, they finished eating as much as they could. Naruto was happy to see that Sasuke had consumed over half of his ramen before resting his chopsticks. As promised, he paid for the two of them and they left the shop with a warm send off from Ayame.

As they left, Naruto spotted something in a store window across the street. On the corner, there was a retro looking shop with the word "JoyStick" mounted in large red letters over the roof of the building. Naruto's mouth hung open for a moment as he pointed at the poster plastered over all of the building's windows. It was of two ninjas, one in red and the other in black. They were clashing swords and staring at each other with fire in their eyes through they're intricate masks. It was the advertisement for the new Ninja Tournament game. It must have just been released. He hadn't even realized the launch date was so soon.

Naruto looked to Sasuke, expecting some sort of reaction. When he received a lack luster response filled with complete disinterest, he deflated and asked, "What am I thinking? Of course you don't play video games."

"Oh?" Sasuke gave a Sasuke-version of a shocked face and said, "Did I give myself away?"

"Ha. Ha." Naruto rolled his eyes. Then, he unexpectedly grabbed Sasuke's wrist and gave it a light tug. "Come on, you still have time right?"

Sasuke looked into the blonde's mischievous blue eyes and wasn't sure if he'd like whatever Naruto had planned.

* * *

Inside the gaming store across the street from Ichiraku revealed a world for everything nerdy. On the walls there were posters ranging from overtly sexual shoujo anime to 80s samurai movies. There was a section for vinyl records, DVDs and VHS tapes as well as old to new video games and systems. In the far corner of the store there was a large TV mounted on the wall and hooked up to it was a system with the new Ninja Tournament game Naruto had mention loaded up and ready to go.

When they got inside, Naruto dragged Sasuke to the back, as if he already knew what would be waiting for them.

They stopped in front of the TV that was displaying the intro to the newest, hottest fighting game on the market. Fighters were transforming into animals, disappearing into puffs of smoke, shooting throwing knives and ninja stars at each other. The high-energy preview showed each character in tandem, revealing their killer techniques and new improvements from, what Sasuke could tell, was the previous installment of the video game series. How cheesy could it get? And yet, Naruto was staring at it like a salivating pre-teen.

Sasuke put his hands in his pockets, watching as Naruto eagerly reached for the dangling controller. What he wasn't expecting was for Naruto to grab the other controller and hand it to him.

Naruto grinned at Sasuke when instead of accepting the controller; he looked at it with pure distaste. Naruto lightly shook the controller, urging for Sasuke to take it, but he let it hang in Naruto's hand with no intension of obliging him.

"What do you expect me to do with that?" Sasuke asked, turning his nose up to further accentuate his reluctance.

"What do you think? I don't want to play alone."

Sasuke shrugged and looked away. "Then drag some other idiot here to play with you."

Naruto pouted for a moment, nudging Sasuke's side with the controller. He could see Sasuke's growing irritation, but he still wasn't budging.

"Oh come on," Naruto whined, "Just one game."

"I don't think so." Sasuke slapped Naruto's hand away when the nudging became too much for his nerves. He wondered briefly why he was even hanging around this twenty-year-old who was clearly obsessed with things beyond his spectrum.

Naruto grinned; this time looking like a devious idea had crossed his mind. He leaned closer to Sasuke and whispered, "You're afraid you'll lose, aren't ya?"

Sasuke grit his teeth and leaned back, looking absolutely offended. "Get real."

"You are!" Naruto poked him for good measure then crossed his arms in a show of haughtiness. "You're definitely the type of guy who hates doing things he doesn't think he'll be good at." Naruto decided and nodded his head at the conclusion.

"Idiot." Sasuke said through his gritted teeth. He was getting fed up.

Naruto shrugged and let out an exasperated sigh, "Well, it can't be helped. You can't be good at everything. There's bound to be something even the mighty _Uchiha-sama_ sucks at."

After that Naruto felt the spare controller get snatched from his hand. He quickly looked to Sasuke who was glaring at the TV screen.

"One game." Sasuke confirmed.

Naruto nodded, happy that his tactics had worked, but also surprised that Sasuke had such a childish side to him. It definitely beat his know-it-all, obnoxious, arrogant side. He wouldn't admit to himself that he thought it was cute. Sasuke was anything but _cute._

Naruto started up the game. He spent a moment of their time showing Sasuke the basics to the fighting structure and telling him about the origins of the game. He talked about how it started out as a platformer and evolved into the fighting game that it was now. Naruto was surprised that Sasuke nodded in some interest to what he was saying. Even if he did feel like he was talking a bit much, Sasuke just listened quietly as they picked out their characters.

Two minutes of battling later, Naruto stared at the screen with his mouth open and his eyes wide.

Sasuke was smirking down at him.

"You…" Naruto pointed at the screen. "You beat me…" He watched as his character's head was brutally decapitated by Sasuke's. He grabbed at the screen, as if it would help him comprehend what had just happened. He turned to Sasuke with his wide, hopeless eyes and proclaimed, "You liar!"

Both of Sasuke's eyebrows went up at this accusation.

Naruto went on, "You've totally played this game before! You're a total undercover geek aren't you?"

Sasuke scoffed and looked away. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Then how?" Naruto whined and Sasuke shrugged again.

"It's easy. All you're doing is pressing buttons."

"It's so much more than that! You landed an eighteen hit combo! _Eight-teen_ hits, Sasuke! That's like… I can't even do that." Naruto was still amazed. Sasuke didn't get what the big deal was. But, he could admit that beating Naruto so thoroughly gave him a great feeling of empowerment.

When Naruto turned to him with determined eyes, Sasuke knew what he was about to say and immediate shook his head. "No."

"Come on," Naruto whined, and again Sasuke was reminded of their age difference.

"I said one game."

Naruto continued to stare up at him with his unwavering eyes. Sasuke glared back at him. The two stared at each other this way for a full minute before Sasuke finally gave in.

* * *

Ten games later Naruto and Sasuke were walking back. Naruto's shoulders were slumped after his devastating defeat while Sasuke walked uncaringly beside him, but secretly reveling in his victory.

Sasuke silently agreed to walk Naruto to his apartment since it wasn't too far from where they were. When they got there they stood outside of Naruto's door.

Naruto turned to Sasuke and spoke; "I can't believe you beat me eleven times in a row." He sounded a bit more lighthearted when he said it this time, which had been the hundredth time since they left the nerd-store.

Sasuke smirked, finding Naruto's disheartened expression a bit endearing. Even though there were a million things he could've said back, he simply shrugged his shoulders at Naruto's admission.

A moment of silence passed. For the first time that day, Naruto realized this situation was a bit awkward. This was the same guy whom he was sure he'd never want to meet again, right? He was the arrogant, scumbag who was cheating on his wife to sleep around with men, wasn't he? The same guy who carelessly slept with him, the same guy who disregarded him up until then, the same guy who Naruto was sickeningly obsessed with, but was so wrong for him in so many ways…

He'd never imaged that underneath all of his bastardly tendencies, Sasuke was sort of… normal.

Without giving it much thought, Naruto asked, "Should I invite you in?"

Sasuke shook his head without hesitation and explained, "I actually have a meeting to get to." Naruto nodded. He did his best to hide his disappointment. He wasn't ready to admit that he actually enjoyed Sasuke's company.

Naruto wondered if they'd been the same age at the same school if they'd be friends. If circumstances were different, would they have dated like normal people?

It didn't help that everything about this moment felt like the ending of a date, and it made Naruto feel jittery and uneasy. What made it even worse was in the next moment Sasuke's hand was on his cheek, lifting his head up so that he could give him a kiss. It was short, but slow enough to feel sensual. Sasuke's lips gripped onto Naruto's bottom lip and slowly tugged on it as they separated.

Naruto's eyes were closed when they pulled apart. He was taken by the soft kiss. It felt nothing like what they shared before. When he opened his eyes seconds later, he gave Sasuke a small smile.

Trying not to sound effected by the moment they had just shared, Naruto said in a lighthearted manor, "I guess I won't ever see you again." Sasuke raised his eyebrow at this before Naruto continued, "Since, you know, you didn't save my number." He realized Naruto was referring to his earlier comments.

Sasuke shrugged, looking cocky. "You still have my number. I won't tell you what to do with it."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Arrogant bastard."

A voice cut in before Sasuke could respond to the insult. "Whoa, I am so sorry." They both turned their heads towards the intrusion.

Sakura was standing there looking shocked, holding a bag of groceries in one hand and the strap of her purse with the other.

"Uh…" was all Naruto could think to say

She pointed behind her, "Should I come by later, Naruto?"

Naruto blushed, scratching the back of his head shyly. "Uh, no it's fine." He looked up at Sasuke for a moment, "He was just leaving."

Sasuke nodded and backed away from Naruto after realizing how incredibly close they were. He didn't say anything else and simply walked past Sakura with a short nod of acknowledgement before he rounded the corner and was gone.

Sakura watched him go then turned to Naruto with her mouth wide open. She walked towards him and pointed in the direction Sasuke went. "Okay, he is so much hotter in person. Jesus." She let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. "Now I totally get why you'd ignore my fucking calls," she slapped his arm as she said the last part and Naruto realized he hadn't checked his phone yet that day.

"Ow!" He rubbed the sore spot where Sakura hit. "Sorry, my phone's dead." Naruto turned and unlocked his door. They walked in and Sakura set the bag of groceries down on the counter. They looked at each other after that and Sakura motioned for him to talk. Naruto cocked his head to the side, unsure of what she was asking of him.

Sakura rolled her eyes and said, "Sooo..."

"So?" Naruto countered.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "What happened to never seeing him again?"

Naruto walked over and plopped down on the couch. "I wouldn't say I'm 'seeing him'."

Sakura tilted her head, "Really?" She tapped her chin, looking mockingly intrigued. "Because that looked a lot like two people seeing each other out there."

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know." He sat up straight, "I don't get him at all. He's a total asshole, believe it, but he's also… I don't know."

Sakura sat beside Naruto with her purse and a bottle of water that she likely grabbed from the bag she'd brought over. She took a gulp before she offered a sip to Naruto as he thought to himself. He declined the offer and she shrugged.

After a moment she spoke again, "You like him, don't you?"

Naruto laughed incredulously. "No! I don't like him. That's crazy. I barely know him." He realized he sounded a bit frantic when he said this, and willed himself to calm down.

Sakura nodded, taking note of how skittish he'd gotten with his answer, before she continued, "Yeah, but you've slept with him on two different occasions and you were looking at him like high school Naruto on his first date out there."

"Well, for you information, we didn't sleep together last night we just…" Naruto looked away. For a moment, he wasn't sure how to put it. "Well," he continued, "We just... slept together..."

Sakura narrowed her eyes in thought. "Wait so, you met up with him and you just slept… beside him?"

"Yeah, and then we went to Ichiraku…"

"You went to Ichiraku? Your favorite food place!"

"No! It was just…"

"So wait!" Sakura hopped up, enthusiastic as ever. She started pacing as she spoke, "You sleep with this guy, who's apparently an asshole, but obviously is a very, very hot asshole. You find out that he's married and has a kid, let's not forget that little bit of info. Then, you meet up with him again and DON'T have sex, and instead sleep together, in the same bed no doubt. THEN, you take him on a date to your favorite food place. He walks you home, kisses you, yeah I totally saw that by the way, and you're telling me that you don't like him?" She stopped, crossed her arms and stared down at him. He didn't think it would help his case if he told her about going to JoyStick, so he omitted that.

"No." Naruto huffed and looked away. "I'm telling you that I don't know what the fuck I'm doing with this guy."

Sakura's eyes went from amused to sympathetic. She sat down beside him and rubbed his shoulder with a soothing hand. "Oh, Naruto," she cooed sweetly.

"He told me today that his wife knew he was sleeping around."

Sakura scoffed and shook her head. "That's probably a lie."

Naruto looked at her then, unwilling to admit that her words struck a cord, "You think so?"

Sakura nodded, "Totally. If that Sasuke guy looks half as hot naked as I think he does, no woman would ever be okay with sharing that man."

Naruto sighed, partially amused by Sakura's words but also disturbingly upset at the idea of Sasuke lying to him. "Maybe you're right," he said softly. Why was his heart sinking as he thought about it? He tried not to look too hard for the answer.

"But wait!" Sakura perked up as a thought came to mind. "You never told me what happened with Neji." Naruto had completely forgotten about that little interaction.

"Right," Naruto grumbled. "He came up to me after you and Hinata dropped me off. Kiba sniffed me out too."

"Wait, what? It was both of them?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, It was just Neji and then today Kiba came up to us while we were at Ichiraku."

"What the fuck..."

"Yeah, I know. I wish they would just let me wash my hands of this." Sakura nodded, unsure of what to say. Naruto leaned back and fished around the couch for the remote. Sakura found it first and handed it to him.

"You think your boyfriend is on TV again?" She joked and Naruto slapped her leg playfully. Sakura laughed at Naruto's red face.

"Shut up! Don't say that."

"I'm kidding!"

Naruto pouted, "He's not my boyfriend. Not even close."

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

They sat in front of the TV just flipping through channels. Naruto couldn't help but let his mind drift. Sasuke really was a mysterious guy. He just couldn't make sense of him. He was unmistakably the most disrespectful, arrogant, uptight, prick Naruto had ever met. And yet, there was a side to him that was undoubtedly charming and hard to dismiss. It was hard to comprehend the way Naruto felt about him, especially since they'd only met a few times. It was completely messed up that, even so, he couldn't seem to get the bastard off of his mind.

All that considered, there was one thing that was certain: this whole mess he was getting into was a bad idea. Experiencing a day like this where he felt like he could actually like Sasuke; like there was any type of connection between them that wasn't sexual was an enormous red flag in his eyes. Sasuke was married. He was married and he had a kid, a whole separate life to what he revealed to Naruto. And what if Sakura was right? Did he lie to him about his wife knowing just to get Naruto to stop talking about his family? Did he feel guilty at all for what he was doing? Was Sasuke really the type of coward to lie like that? Naruto was starting to find it hard to believe.

And yet, whether or not that was a lie, it didn't change the fact that Sasuke just wasn't "boyfriend material". He was far from it. And knowing that, for some odd reason, irritated Naruto more than ever.

"I think I've changed my mind." Naruto said, taking himself away from his train of thought.

"About what?" Sakura spoke, sounding distracted, her eyes still focused on the television.

Naruto turned his body to fully face Sakura. "The trip. I want to go with you guys."

Sakura turned to him and smiled, "The onsen trip that you totally shat on?"

Naruto chuckled, "Yeah, that one."

"Great!" Sakura bounced around in her seat, reaching in her bag for her phone. "Yay, I'm so excited! I'll let Ino know."

"Wait." Naruto stopped her and she paused to look at him, "I want to do something first."


	6. CONTINUE READING ON AO3

Hey Everyone! ._.

I'm so sorry that I started posting here and then just sort of fell off. I'm trash, I know. I'm no longer going to be posting on , just because it's too much of a hassle, and I really love the way Archive is set up. So! That being said, **this story is way more up to date on Ao3**! If you want to read the next few chapters and catch up, go to: /works/13425582/chapters/30766812

Thank you all for reading so far! I'll leave this story up here for a while, but eventually I will take it off this site :


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